[RR] Fwd: WARNING: DO NOT KISS RATTLESNAKES

[This Lil'light'r Mine]

*Here's one to Pray about<G>

Even tho the Bible says yah can handle deadly snakes-
don't try to give 'em a smooch<G>

=-A->

Note: forwarded message attached.


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*High MORALE is the Index of effective Leadership.
--------------********+********--------------------
Morale raises belief of the Leader in the follower,
of the follower in the Leader, of each in themself,
and both in the .....cause!

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http://www.columbian.com/11192002/front_pa/335859.html

Title: WARNING: DO NOT KISS RATTLESNAKES

Subscribe to The Columbian Contact The Columbian E-mail comments  about the site The Columbian archives   WARNING: DO NOT KISS RATTLESNAKES Tuesday, November 19, 2002 By JOHN BRANTON, Columbian staff writer YACOLT -- Matt George fearlessly pulled his pet rattlesnake out of its cage early Sunday morning as his friends looked on nervously.     "I said, 'OK, man, you're being stupid, put it away,' " said Jim Roban, 39, a truck driver. "He said, 'It's OK, I do it all the time.' "     George, 21, holding the two-foot-long snake right behind the head, kissed it. And then kissed it again.     "It didn't get him the first time, but it got him the second time and it got him good," LeaAnn Jennings said.     With two holes visible under his mustache, George dropped the snake on the kitchen floor, where it coiled, ready to attack.     Roban yelled for people to move away and killed the snake with his cowboy boot.     "He said, 'I'm going to die,' " Roban said. "I said, 'No, you're not going to die, just calm down and relax.' "     As they waited for an ambulance to arrive at George's home at 409 E. Yacolt Road, Roban said, "I thought his head was going to blow up, he was just swelling and swelling."     Clark County Sheriff's Deputy Steven Johnson observed George in the ambulance.     "I noticed his upper lip was expanding, causing his face to become disfigured," Johnson said. "I watched as he became limp and his eyes rolled back into his head."     After George lost consciousness, he was flown by Life Flight Helicopter to Portland's Legacy Emanuel Hospital, where he was initially listed in critical condition. He was in intensive care Monday night and his condition had been upgraded to serious.     Friends said they stopped by the George home to discuss deer hunting. George had had at least one beer, but didn't seem intoxicated, they said. He wanted to show off the rattlesnake he had captured during a recent trip to Arizona.     Rattlesnake venom poses a multitude of dangers to its victims, said Dr. Richard Thomas, director of the poison center at the Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Phoenix, which treats 70 to 80 people a year with snake bites. It causes swelling, which can impair breathing. It also causes the victim's blood to thin, which can lead to internal bleeding. In addition, the venom contains digestive enzymes that eat away at tissue at the site of the wound. In some cases, tissue must be cut away.     Because a person's lip has good circulation, Thomas said he doubted any amputation would be necessary in George's case.     Deaths from rattlesnake bites are very rare, Thomas said. However, he knows of one person who died after being bitten on the tongue. The person was mimicking the snake's flickering tongue when struck.     The sheriff's report said George's snake was a young one with only two rattles on its tail. That was in George's favor, Thomas said. Contrary to myth, bigger snakes carry the most venom.     Find a job Find a car Find a home Discussion forums: Hot Issues The Fan The Softball Field The Soccer Net The Mat Neighborhood Issues Search the free columbian.com archives: More news. Click here. Copyright © 2002 by The Columbian Publishing Co. P.O. Box 180, Vancouver, WA 98666. No part of this publication may be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted, or reproduced in any way, including but not limited to photocopy, photograph, magnetic or other record, without the prior agreement and written permission of the publisher.

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