After her 5-year-old daughter was bitten by a venomous snake and ended up in a pediatric intensive care unit, a Georgia mom is warning other parents to make sure they’re educating their kids about the dangers of snakes they may encounter while playing outside so they can do everything they can to avoid getting a snake bite.

Maisy Lamica was playing outside with her cat when she noticed the cat cornering a rattlesnake. As Maisy approached the snake, she was attacked by the snake and received three snake bites.

Her father immediately called an ambulance, but on the way to the hospital, Maisy went into anaphylactic shock—likely due to an allergy to the rattlesnake venom or the high dose of venom in her system.


After arriving at her local hospital, she was intubated and life-flighted to a Shands Children’s Hospital in Florida where she’s currently still being treated in the pediatric ICU. The bite occurred on Friday, June 18. Over the weekend, little Maisy received 41 vials of anti-venom in addition to antibiotics, steroids, and fluids.


5-year-old Valdosta girl fights for life after venomous snake bite

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“The amount of times that snake bit her was enough to kind of sedate an elephant at this point basically,” her mother, Cyndi Spell, told WALB news. Though she said after a scary weekend where the venom appeared to be spreading, Maisy’s condition is improving—though she’s not quite out of the woods.

“She’s a lot better,” Cyndi Spell told TODAY Parents. “The doctors are blown away at how she has pulled through. Her leg finally quit swelling…there was a moment we were unsure if orthopedic doctors would need to cut it open to relieve the swelling. Aside from her puffy leg, the bite marks that are still prominent and five days in pediatric intensive care, she’s her same silly smiling self.”

Spell wants to share Maisy’s story in hopes of reminding parents to educate kids about snakes they could encounter when they’re outside playing.

“I don’t know if it would have changed much, but I look back and wonder instead of telling my child, ‘Beware of snakes, snakes are scary and snakes are dangerous,’ maybe informing her more of what to do when she actually came across one might have helped some,” Spell said.

It’s a great piece of advice—we can’t assume our little ones would know what to do if they came across a snake in the wild. You can donate to Maisy’s GoFundMe here.