Little Girl Stops Smiling After Receiving 30 Vials of Antivenom

An Arizona The toddler hasn't smiled since Friday, following her emergency admission to a nearby hospital after sustaining two bites from a diamondback rattlesnake.

She has since been pumped with 30 vials of antivenom - and may need even more - as her family worries about the long term effects the 15 month old may face.

'Her smiles we miss,' Jacquelyn Reed told 12 News.

She mentioned that she and her little girl, Cara, were just strolling around their land close to Florence when Reed decided to dispose of some litter.

Reed mentions that she was away for roughly 10 seconds when she heard Cara beginning to sob.

When she decided to investigate what had happened, she observed that the young girl had four puncture marks atop her foot, visible through the small opening in her tiny see-through shoe, with a snake curled up behind her, to her left.

Scared out of her wits, Reed quickly picked up Cara and hurried towards the nearest emergency department, phoning ahead so the medical staff would be ready to administer antivenom for her daughter.

But an online fundraiser set up to help the family with the little girl's medical expenses says the hospital was unable to provide the antidote for over an hour - and soon Cara's foot started to turn black.

Reed mentioned that at the same moment, Cara ended up throwing up and passing out.

From there, the hospital sent the young girl to Phoenix Children's Hospital for care — where Reed mentioned that Cara has received "a total of 30 vials of antivenom" so far.

Her road to recovery hasn't been smooth, as Cara quickly began experiencing difficulty breathing and needed to be intubated.

The tube was ultimately taken out on Tuesday, after a challenging period for the family.

In the initial hours following the removal of the tube, Cara’s breathing became quite constricted, as mentioned by her aunt in an online fundraising post. At certain points, the child’s blood oxygen levels plummeted to merely 25 percent.

In due course, Cara's healthcare providers at Phoenix Children's Hospital summoned the Ear, Nose, and Throat experts to her bedside—there they found that the child's vocal cords were almost completely closed off due to swelling.

At that stage, the medical team administered additional steroids and breathing therapies to the young girl. They also positioned her in a particular manner to assist with her constricted air passage and initiated treatment using an oxygen-helium mixture for her.

Her aunt, Delia, penned down, 'We were informed that if she did not demonstrate progress within the next hour, they would insert a small breathing tube into her again and proceed to the operating room for a procedure to widen her vocal cords.'

We prayed and stayed beside her, waiting to hear signs of better breathing," Delia mentioned in an update for the online fundraising campaign. Soon after, she noted that Cara "started moving more air.

She gradually made progress and surpassed the challenging part.

On Wednesday, Delia noted that Cara was finally receiving nutrition through a feeding tube.

'Cara is now sufficiently alert to engage in eye contact and becomes distressed when her mother is no longer within her view,' she mentioned.

She possesses great strength and resilience, and we couldn’t be more pleased with how far she has come.

Yet it remains unclear whether Cara will ever regain full function of her foot, as Delia noted on Tuesday that she was beginning to show signs of long term injuries, and 'we do know that her injury is unfortunately one of the more severe.

'We will be looking to see what kind of recovery she can make, but right now, nothing is off the table as far as her long term damage goes,' Delia shared, noting that the family is considering foot surgery.

However, both she and Jacquelyn express their relief that Cara made it through the harrowing experience alive.

"We're simply thankful that our little girl is still with us," Delia stated in the GoFundMe post, expressing her gratitude to all those who contributed more than $17,000 towards the child’s recuperation.

'Cara is truly a gift from God, and for some reason, everybody seems to know this,' she mentioned.

We sense your affection and backing and understand with absolute certainty that Cara has been safeguarded today due to the surge of belief and petitions directed towards our Heavenly Father from everyone who cherishes her.

Jacquelyn mentioned that her baby is considered 'the angel of the family,' and she continues to hope 'we might achieve full functionality again so she can return to being her usual, cheerful, lovely, endearing self.'

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