While eating in McDonald's, we saw a young boy with a swollen arm and hand talking to another boy. He was telling him about his encounter with a rattlesnake.

The story went like this: 

"My brother and I were walking towards town wearing masks, which fell off of my face and landed in tall grass. When I bent down to reach for my mask, I heard a rattling sound and before I knew it, I was bitten by a small rattlesnake.

After about ten minutes, we realized what happened and called on our cell phone for help. Meanwhile, I sat down on the sidewalk and waited. After the ambulance and fire department arrived, I was given some medicine and then taken to the hospital. 

We were told at the hospital that we did the right thing by sitting down and waiting for the ambulance — if I ran, the venom would have traveled faster towards my heart and could have paralyzed me, or in other words, stop the heart.

In talking to the emergency doctor at the hospital, we were told that this is time of the year when snakes come out to lay on the warm pavement and in the sun. When you walk in tall grass you always wear long pants and high boots, not shorts and tennis shoes.

Also in tall grass or weeds, you have to watch out for ticks, a small spider-like insect that can suck your blood if it gets on your skin. Once they dig into your skin they are hard to get out, and their venom is very toxic and can make you sick. 

After you finish your hike in tall grass, check your body for dark spots that were not on it when you started your hike. It could be a tick if there is redness around the dark spot. Go to the hospital and let the emergency doctors look at it; don’t take a chance to be safe. 

It’s fun to go hiking or take a walk, but be observant of your surroundings; it could save you from a lot of problems."

When we finished eating and while we were leaving, we saw the two boys outside ready to leave. We stopped them and ask if we could see the area where the bite was. The boy raised his hand and we could see two puncture holes on his index fingers, and the bluish-purple swelling of his index finger and his thumb. 

After showing us his hand, the boy said, "It's the last time I reach for something in a patch of tall weeds or brush!"