LAWRENCE COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT) — A GoFundMe has been set up for the hiker who was airlifted to a local hospital after being bitten by a venomous snake last week.
The GoFundMe identifies the victim as Tyler Roach.
On September 4, the page says Roach was hiking in the Sipsey Wilderness with his dad when he felt a “sharp pain in [his] left calf, turned to look, and saw a large Copperhead biting down on [his] leg.”
Around 3 p.m., the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office was notified via 911 of the incident.
LCSO said the multi-agency search and rescue team was sent out there. Upon arrival, deputies met with a family member of the victim who had hiked out to call for help.
SAR Team Leader Lt. Long, who is EMT-certified, along with other members of the Sheriff’s Office SAR team, hiked into the forest and located the victim, who was experiencing symptoms including vomiting, swelling, and abdominal pain resulting from a snake bite to the lower leg. An IV was started, and initial medications were administered on site.
ALEA Aviation provided air support for communication between the SAR team and the command center. However, ALEA’s extraction helicopter was unavailable due to maintenance. Additional personnel were paged to assist in the complex rescue operation, which was further complicated by nightfall and the rugged terrain.
The GoFundMe says it took over 12 agencies and groups to get the hiker out of the forest.
The patient was successfully extricated from the forest around 11:00 p.m. and transferred to an emergency helicopter, which transported him to a local hospital for further treatment.
The page says Roach suffered an allergic reaction to antivenom, extreme dehydration, severe muscle damage and threatened kidney failure.
“The doctors say that things are looking up, but the road to recovery will be a very long and slowly progressing one, leaving me unsure of when I will be able to return to work with estimates in several months,” Roach says.
You can view the GoFundMe page for Roach here.
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