Left to right: Mike Lovatt with ICU registered nurse Sheena Kumar
Thanks to the teamwork of BC health care staff this week, Mike Lovatt is living to tell his story about being bitten by a venomous snake in Costa Rica.
While vacationing in Quepos, the 61-year-old Sunshine Coast resident felt something bite him on the foot. 30 minutes later, he became sick and his foot was swollen. The next day he went to a local hospital where he was given antibiotics.
Mike flew back to Vancouver the next day, as he had originally scheduled, and went straight to the VGH emergency department. He was critically ill. The VGH team gave him massive blood transfusions and put him on urgent dialysis. They tried rattlesnake anti-venom first, but it didn’t help Mike’s symptoms.
Dr. Andy Neitzel holding the last vial of anti-venom
“This was the first time any of us had dealt with a tropical snake bite,” said Dr. Andy Neitzel, VGH ICU physician in training. Once they had figured out what had attacked Mike, the team had to track down an anti-venom drug which was not so easy to find. Luckily, they found the antidote at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle. BC Emergency Health Services immediately flew to Seattle to pick up the anti-venom.
“It’s amazing what the anti-venom did,” said Mike. “The entire team all worked very hard, and saved my life.”
“It was very lucky to find the antidote,” said Dr. Kathy Craig, VGH ICU physician, who helped care for the patient. “It was terrific the zoo had the anti-venom and where quick to transfer it to Harbourview Medical Center, where the BC Air Ambulance helicopter was able to land, pick it up and fly it directly back to VGH. We are very grateful for the speed with which everything happened. A lot of thanks go out to a lot of people.”
Close call
Craig says special kudos go out to Dr. Neitzel for his excellent care, as well as to the VGH ICU nursing staff. “As well, we were very grateful for the advice and help from many other specialists in the hospital, especially the hematologist and nephrologist,” said Craig. “As the situation become more and more dire, a number of specialists also offered their expertise.”
“It was a huge team effort,” Craig said. “People from all over the hospital started to come out of the woodwork, offering their advice and help.”
“When I first saw the patient, he actually looked remarkably good compared to what his blood work looked like,” she added later. “We didn’t think he’d make it.”
After 20 vials of anti-venom, Mike is now on the mend, recovering at VGH. He’s still receiving dialysis but is expected to go home in a few days. He says he’s going to rethink his travel bucketlist and concentrate of Europe, where there are less poisonous creatures to worry about.