Lamesa man bit by rattlesnake recovers at Lubbock hospital

LUBBOCK, Texas — It was a routine evening for Dustin McElwee at his Veterinary clinic, Brock Veterinary in Lamesa. Dustin said he had been showing students around the facility.

Dustin went into a building currently under construction and as he pulled open a garage door, he came face to face with a visitor.

“[I] reached down to grab a door latch at ground level and felt something prick my finger,” Dustin said.

Dustin encountered a rattlesnake and was bitten on his middle finger.

A family-friend of the McElwee’s who is a snake expert said, the warmer temperatures mixed with cold, shady, wet areas is “a perfect storm” for a snake to hide.

The snake was found in a small opening in the ground in their building.

While Dustin said he is used to treating rattlesnake bites on horses and dogs as a vet, he said this was different.

“ [I] Kind of [panicked]… immediately went inside and washed my hand with water and tried to get a hold of my wife and some other folks,” Dustin said.

Dustin’s wife, Danielle McElwee, did not have her phone on her but eventually got word of what happened.

She said Dustin was calm as they searched for the closest facility that has anti-venom, a treatment for rattlesnake bites.

Eventually, they located a local emergency clinic with anti-venom, but it wasn’t enough for Dustin’s bite.

“They sent me by ambulance to Lubbock to Covenant Hospital where I received very good care from there for several days,” Dustin said.

Danielle said there was concern, but everyone remained calm for the most part, including Dustin.

“I went ahead and decided to follow the ambulance just because his blood pressure was kind of wonky after they started giving the pain medicine and I just wanted to be you know at the ER when they arrived,” Danielle said.

Dr. Derek Haggard with Covenant Medical center said rattlesnakes are common here in West Texas, especially during this time of year. On average, Dr. Haggard said they treat 20 snake bites per year.

“We do recommend you call 911 and have an ambulance take you, but if you can’t, have somebody drive you as quickly as possible to the emergency room to take care of the wound immediately,” Dr. Haggard said. “We just want you to wash it, soap and water, just to clean, bandage and usually just keep it below Heart level.”

Dustin and Danielle posted on social media how people should respond in case something like this happens to them. They recommended not putting a tourniquet or ice on it and calling ahead to make sure the ER has time to mix the anti-venom.

Dr. Haggard recommended not trying to remove the venom yourself and leaving it to medical professionals.

“We like to have it started approximately six hours from the time of the bite if we can get the medication in six hours,” Dr. Haggard.  “We usually have a good chance of saving the arm, saving the fingers, saving the foot just to keep from tissue damage from the Venom from the snake.”

Dustin said he did lose feeling in the tip of his finger but is working to regain it. The swelling has gone down, but he did have to have surgery on a blister caused by the snake bite and was monitored by a team of doctors at Covenant while recovering.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLBK | KAMC | EverythingLubbock.com.