Sparkman teen shares scary story of snake strike

By JOEL PHELPS | The Arkadelphian

The initial sting on Aleigha’s foot came instantly. At first, she thought maybe it was caused by her pet cat being a little too aggressive. She looked down but found no feline at her feet. Perhaps it was a wasp, she thought.

Then she discovered the culprit coiled nearby in the grass. The realization and fear that she’d just been struck by a venomous snake quickly set in.

“At first I was pretty scared, but I didn’t freak out,” the 14-year-old Aleigha Vann, of Sparkman, said. Vann and her family had just returned home from an afternoon of shopping in Arkadelphia, and she had gone back outside to retrieve a phone charger when the copperhead bit her on the side of her left foot.

It was nearing dusk in early July, and the Vann family was in for a long night. Back to Arkadelphia they went — this time to Baptist Health Medical Center, where she would be given a dose of antivenom and an ambulance ride to Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock. 

“The snake bite itself hurt, but not that bad,” Vann said, but once the swelling began “it hurt super bad.” The slightest breeze sent throbbing pain through her lower extremities. “It felt like ants on my feet,” she said. The pain would last at least 15 hours.

Every year in the U.S., an estimated 7,000-8,000 people are bitten by venomous snakes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of those, only about five cases each year are fatal.

Vann is a minority in the world of snake bite cases, as copperheads only account for about 25% of venomous snake bites in the U.S., and fatalities from their bite are extremely rare, says Herps of Arkansas. The rattlesnake carries the title as top biter and deadliest snake.

Although Vann was bitten, she said she’s not fearful of the slithering serpents. “I’m still not scared of snakes,” she said, admitting that now she’s uneasy about grassy areas, where a copperhead can easily lurk undetected.

“The eastern copperhead has one of the best camouflage patterns in the fall woods,” the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission pointed out in a 2021 article about avoiding snake bites. A copperhead’s hourglass bars alternate between dark and light coppery brown. “The distinct hourglass may not be easily noticed unless you are looking at them from above,” the article said, offering an indication as to how Vann didn’t notice until after she was struck.

“I’m a lot better,” Vann said, adding that she was still unable to wear shoes a week after the incident. “I can put weight on my foot now, but it still feels a bit strange.”