Father Faces £970,000 Hospital Bill After Surviving Deadly Rattlesnake Bite Treated With 54 Vials of Anti-Venom

An Idaho father is counting himself lucky to be alive after surviving two bites from a venomous rattlesnake during a visit to family in Oroville, California. His recovery, however, has come at an enormous financial cost, with medical bills reaching nearly £970,000 before insurance.

The man, identified as Chris Howarth, was reportedly bitten after accidentally stepping on what he initially believed was a plant hidden in the shadows. Instead, it was a rattlesnake, which struck him twice.

Although Chris initially survived the attack, his condition worsened three days later when he developed disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), a rare but life-threatening condition that causes the body’s blood-clotting system to become dangerously overactive.

Doctors treated him with 54 vials of anti-venom as they worked to save his life.

Providing an update on his recovery, Chris’ wife, Jenny, said:

“Chris is feeling about 80%,”

“He still has some soreness and swelling in his leg, which gets worse with more activity.

“The worst part for him has been the lingering fatigue. He gets exhausted pretty easily.”

She described the emotional toll the incident had on their family, especially after Chris developed DIC.

Jenny said: “The whole incident was pretty scary for our family while he was in the hospital and his condition was so up and down.

“We all got scared one night when he went into DIC. That’s when things got scary.

“We are so glad to have him home and on the up and up.

“We’ve definitely learned not to take our time together as a family for granted. You never know when it can be your last day.”

Jenny also spoke about the family’s growing concern over the cost of Chris’ treatment despite having health insurance.

She said:

“He does have insurance and it’ll definitely cover some.

“We haven’t gotten our portion yet but the total from both hospitals that we have seen before insurance is about $1.3 million.

“The hospital had told us that anti-venom is about $13,000 a vial and he received 54 vials.

“Every time we were told he would need more, Chris felt stressed about the price, but we knew he needed it.

“Plus, per night in the ICU in Stanford, just having a room was $61,000

“Chris has been out of work since May 26 and he has not been getting paid the whole time.

“He used up his PTO and sick leave when he had surgery in January.

“So that has been stressful as well.

“Just knowing we have big medical bills coming and he hasn’t received a paycheck in over seven weeks has us stressed about the future.

“We are so grateful for those who have donated.”

Chris is now continuing his recovery at home, while his family hopes insurance and community support will help ease the financial burden created by the life-saving treatment.