SANTA CLARITA, CA — A 3-year-old in Los Angeles County was recently bitten by a rattlesnake that was under an Amazon package, according to reports, with her father describing the incident as “a terrifying experience that turned our world upside down.”
The girl, named Addy, saw the package had been dropped off in her family’s yard in a rural area of Santa Clarita and ran to pick it up, according to KTLA and a GoFundMe started by her father, Manuel Barajas.
“Tragically, a southern pacific rattlesnake was hiding under the brown padded envelope and bit Addy’s left hand,” Barajas wrote on the fundraiser webpage.
The girl ended up receiving three doses of antivenom in total and being transferred from a local hospital to a facility with a pediatric intensive care unit, according to the GoFundMe, which said the child spent two nights in the hospital.
As of Tuesday, the fundraiser had received more than $7,000 in donations to support the family as they navigate the financial aftermath of the incident.
At least three people have died of snake bites so far this year in California, according to reports, including a 78-year-old woman from Redwood Valley, a 46-year-old woman in Thousand Oaks, and a 25-year-old man in Irvine.
An Ohio man visiting the state who recently suffered a bite received 54 doses of antivenom, KTLA reported.
There have been hundreds of bites reported as of early July, according to KTLA, which noted high temperatures in March increased rattlesnake activity.
To avoid a snake bite, people should stay on trails and away from dense thick brush, wear loose pants and substantial boots, keep dogs on a leash, and check under rocks, stumps or logs before sitting on them, as those are common places for rattlesnakes to hide, Cort Klopping, an information officer with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, previously told Patch.
If a person is bitten, they should stay calm but act quickly by going to the nearest medical facility immediately, he said. People should not cut a rattlesnake bite wound, try to suck out the venom, or apply ice or a tourniquet.
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