Man dies from snake bite, and the story goes viral. Gilbert De Leon died just hours after being bitten twice by a venomous water snake. Gilbert De Leon passed away as he slept next to his girlfriend, Shellie Johns, after refusing to go the hospital. The man was afraid of big medical bills.
Gilbert De Leon, a 37-year-old man from Missouri, died one day after being bitten twice by a poisonous snake – it is believed that a cottonmouth killed him.
On Friday afternoon, De Leon, who was from Nixa, Missouri along with his girlfriend, Shellie Johns, visited the James River where he was bitten on both legs by a venomous snake.
According to Christian County Coroner Brad Cole, Gilbert De Leon’s girlfriend said:
“His girlfriend reported that he yelled he’d been bitten by a snake and got out of the river to find he’d been bitten twice — once on each leg. I’m not sure what kind of snake bit him, but the only venomous water snake I’m aware of is a cottonmouth. It could have been something else, but we just don’t know.”
De Leon was in great pain after the snake bites, and his girlfriend begged him to go to a nearby hospital and he refused. Instead, De Leon tried to extract the poison himself.
A snake bite can cause swelling around the wound, a burning sensation, diarrhea, fever, blurred vision, dizziness, convulsions, fainting, milky vision, paralysis and general weakness. De Leon may have had all the symptoms after the reptile attacked him. The couple went to bed, and when Johns woke up, she found De Leon dead. Cole added:
“That evening he got lethargic but just wouldn’t go to a hospital.They went to bed and she reported he was snoring more loudly than usual. The next morning when she woke up she found him dead.”
The medical professional stated that the fang marks on Gilbert De Leon’s legs were 3/4 of an inch wide, which indicated to him that it was a small to medium size snake. He concluded:
“We’ve sent off for lab tests that will take about eight weeks to get back.The lab won’t tell us anything about a snake bite, but it will say if there was a drug overdose or alcohol overdose. However, I didn’t find anything else that looked to me like the cause of death was anything other than a snake bite.”
Most experts say if Gilbert De Leon had sought medical assistance immediately, he would have survived. However, his girlfriend said he was afraid of the cost, and that is why he did not go to a hospital.
What are your thoughts on this tragic incident? Should more people get Obamacare?
