The Return of Momzilla

"You asshole," Clint chuckled. "Okay, I'm gonna make a couple phone calls. Just sit there."

He punched in the autodial for Methodist Hospital. I knew he was calling the ER. I could hear him telling them that they had a serious snakebite case coming in and to alert the ICU. Then he called Memphis State's Medical Department. He told them to airlift 24 vials of polyvalent dendroaspis anti-venom to Methodist and to order another twenty. He further told them not to worry, that our insurance would cover the cost. That was gonna be a lot of money, probably about thirty thousand. Didn't matter; without anti-venom, mortality rate for black mamba bites is one hundred percent.

I smiled at Carla, or at least I think I did. She crossed the corridor and sat down beside me. "Glen?" she asked, frightened tears in her eyes.

"I'm alright, kitten," I reassured her. We both knew I was lying. "I love you."

Carla's eyes widened and she stared at me. "Oh, Glen, please. Don't say that. Not like that."

Clint placed his hand on her shoulder. "He'll be alright, Carla. Methodist is waiting for him and the anti-venom is on the way to the hospital. He'll be there in less than an hour."

She looked up at him with a weak smile, but it was obvious it didn't help. It was just about then that we heard the sirens approaching.

I pulled her head back to mine, giving her a loving kiss. It was a little strange. I couldn't feel her lips.

- - - - - - - - - -

The paramedics were there in minutes. They started an IV immediately, a 16-guage fast flow line. The first item in there was a bag of Lactated Ringers, to keep my blood volume up and maintain the electrolyte balance.

We kept two vials of mamba anti-venom in the ready stores and they'd brought those along. Since it was a double bite, they injected one vial directly, adding the second vial to the IV drip. Normally, you never inject anti-venom, but black mamba bites are a special case. With this being a double strike, it became an extreme emergency. Mambas inject more than enough venom to kill with a single bite. A double strike by an angry mamba injects a massive amount of venom, and Denny hadn't been in a very good mood when he hit me.

I was already having trouble keeping my eyes open. It's a condition called ptosis and it's the first stage of peripheral paralysis. This was happening fast, way too fast. I was starting to realize that I was in a lot of trouble.

The medics must have agreed with me. They had a gurney in the corridor and were getting me strapped onto it when another disturbance caught my attention.

Mom was demanding to know what was happening. Jeff told her to just stay out of the way for a moment, until they got me moved. Wasn't good enough for her and she started yelling at him.

Jeff turned on her. His face was contorted with anger. He read her the riot act, telling her to keep quiet. "You've already done more than enough damage for one lifetime. Now, shut the fuck up before I really get pissed."

"What are you talking about? What do you mean, one lifetime?"

A long breath escaped through clenched teeth. Jeff's hands were closing into fists. He looked to see that Carla wasn't listening before continuing. "If they can't get him on life support soon enough, he's going to die. He was just bitten by the deadliest snake on the planet, thanks to you."

Clint looked at him with surprise but didn't say anything. He was probably thinking the same thing. A security officer arrived and, when Mom still wouldn't shut up, he arrested her. The officer looked at Jeff.

"Criminal trespass?" he asked.

"No. Reckless endangerment. For the moment."

"What do you mean, for the moment?" Mom yelled.

Jeff stepped in close, dropping his voice. "Listen, you idiot. That snake hit him with enough venom to kill twenty people. If he dies, I'll change the charge to negligent homicide. You know what that is?" When she just looked at him blankly, he explained. "That's second-degree murder. You'll spend the rest of your life in prison. Now shut your mouth and behave." He turned to the security officer. "Officer, get her the hell out of here. Turn her over to Shelby County. I'll sign the complaints."

The officer nodded and led a now thoroughly intimidated woman out of the reptile house.

Carla hadn't heard any of that exchange, thank God. She was watching the paramedics work. They wheeled me out of the reptile house and into the ambulance.

"He's going to Methodist, ma'am. Do you want to ride with us?"

Carla thought for a moment, then shook her head. "I've got to get my daughter."

"They aren't going to let Ryo into the Intensive Care Unit," Clint advised her. "Tammy and I can take care of her for the rest of the day. We'll bring her to you this evening if you want."

"No," Carla replied, "thank you. I've got to get my car, too. I'll just go to the hospital and call some friends." She looked at Clint, accepting the hug he gave her. "He'll be alright. Just take it easy."

She gave him a very unconvinced nod, then started for the office.

- - - - - -

We got to the hospital in minutes. That was a good thing. It was getting hard to breathe. Felt like my throat was trying to close on me. I was a bit surprised when the ER crew said they were going to anesthetize me. They were taking me to the Intensive Care Unit. It was pretty obvious that I was going to be on artificial life support for a while.

One of the doctors spoke to his associate, revealing, "We have twenty vials of anti-venom on hand, sir. Twenty-four more are on the way. St Louis and Nashville are on alert if we need more. So are Birmingham and Miami. We should be alright."

"Okay," the other voice answered. "let's get him upstairs. We're going to need to tube him immediately. Get Doctor Walker and Doctor Morton in the mix. They'll be our main consultants for this."

"Okay, Doctor West. I'll get on it right now."

I don't remember a lot after that. I know they had me on cardiac and respiratory support but I think I slept through most of it. likely for a couple of days. There were dim memories of Carla and Doctor Klein but they were so fuzzy I couldn't be sure they were real. Could have been hallucinations or dreams. Not sure.

There were vague images of the tracheal tubes being removed. At least, I think that was what was happening.

Then I felt a gentle pressure on my hand. It was being held. I heard soft crying from beside me. I turned my head to see Carla staring at the feet, weeping gently.

I tried to lift my head, but that didn't go too well. My throat hurt like hell. Still, I was able to croak out a few words. "Hi, Carla. What's wrong?"

I heard a loud gasp. Carla's head snapped around, her eyes wide and reddened by crying. She threw herself across my chest and kissed me. This time I felt her lips. That may have been the longest kiss we'd ever shared.

Methodist moved me into a private room and the stream of visitors started. Clint, Jeff, Doctor Klein, Tammy and a constant stream of our friends and acquaintances. The hospital finally limited the number of visitors I could have, telling me that I needed rest. Sleep was better, but just holding hands or playing with Ryo was fine, too.

Mom was at Baptist, in the psychiatric wing. It was discovered that she'd been prescribed medications for her condition years ago, but she wasn't taking them. She was confined to the psych ward for three months by court order, to ensure that there was a good titer of the drugs in her blood. When they got around to releasing her, she would be on probation. She'd have to meet with a nurse from the Corrections Department bi-weekly. If there was any indication that she wasn't taking the medication, she would be right back in the hospital, likely indefinitely.

Two weeks later I was sent home. Home, not back to work. They wanted me to take it easy for a few weeks. My lungs were still weak. I had severe headaches at times. Doc West told me I was stuck with that. The venom had done a lot of damage and the headaches were part of it.

A month later I was back at the zoo. Clint and Doctor Klein left me in the Herpetology Department. However, they radically restricted my contact with the venomous animals. Another serious bite would likely be fatal.

So, I worked with the non-venomous snakes and some of the minimally venomous species. I had a lot more contact with the Education and Public Information Departments. That was okay with me.

Carla was working from home now and she still assisted with the various presentations. The School Board liked the idea as she made a perfect liaison between the zoo and Millington Middle.

When Mom got out of the hospital, she came over to see us. To our surprise, she told us to sit in the living room and play with Ryo while she cooked a spaghetti dinner for the family. The new medication seemed to be having a very positive effect on her. She was calm, happy, and elated to take part in raising Ryo. She became a major part of the family.

Ryo grew like a weed. She was a happy, curious little lady. Like most kids her age, she crawled at fifty miles-per-hour and had eight-foot arms. She was a handful. She was learning to walk. I wondered if she would actually walk or just go straight to running.

My life is great. Carla is happy and content with her world. She's a tender, attentive mother. Ryo is a happily spoiled little girl, and that seems just about right.

We're a happy little family. Nothing special, just quietly content. That's good enough for me.