After 10-Year-Old Gets Bitten By Poisonous Snake, Her Family Is Hit With Bills Totaling $143,000

Jun 03, 2019 by apost team

Oakley Yoder's family never imagined that something as innocent and fun as summer camp could go so horribly wrong.

The nine-year-old girl spent her summer enjoying the great outdoors in Illinois at Shawnee National Forest. One day, she and some camp friends decided to go for a hike. While walking through the woods, Oakley experienced a sudden, shocking pain in her foot. 

The group stopped and discovered that Oakley had been bitten by a snake -- and not just any snake. Oakley had been bitten by a dangerous copperhead.

apost.com

Copperheads are one of the few venomous snakes in North America that can cause life-threatening reactions. They're pit vipers, recognizable by the pits between their eyes and nostrils on each side of their heads. In addition to burning pain, bites from these snakes cause swelling, nausea, weakness, and bruising.

Panic can make the symptoms worse and cause the venom to spread faster. The camp counselor with Oakley on the hike tried to keep the little girl calm until they could get out of the woods. Oakley rode piggyback to the counselor's van. From there, emergency services airlifted Oakley to the hospital.

The snake had bitten Oakley's toe, which was rapidly swelling and becoming discolored. Luckily, the hospital had antivenom on hand. They treated Oakley and then transferred her to a hospital in Indianapolis so she'd be closer to her home and family.

It took only 24 hours for Oakley to recover enough to return home. 

The ordeal wasn't over yet, though. Shortly after Oakley was released, the hospital sent the family bills for her treatment.

Not one bill. Not two bills. The Yoders received a stack of bills that totaled $143,000. This included nearly $80,000 for the antivenom alone. While they were grateful for the treatment Oakley had received, it was just too much for them to pay.

At first, the family's insurance wouldn't cover the costs. They spent months fighting until the insurance company gave in and paid the bills.

Do you think costs for medical treatment like Oakley's should be so high? Give us your opinion on what happened to Oakley and her family!