CHARELSTON, W.Va. — Doug Skaff is out of the hospital, but the pain from four snakebites continues to be severe.
The former lawmaker and unsuccessful candidate for Secretary of State in the May primary election was removing his campaign signs in the Danville area of Boone County back on May 15th. As he went to pull one from the ground he inadvertently disturbed at least two copperheads which suddenly bit him.
“The pain. The pain is just excruciating, I can’t describe it,” said Skaff now resting at home, but continuing to feel the impact of the venom.
Skaff was released from CAMC where he spent seven days recovering from the bites. He recalled the scariest part of the incident was the ride to the hospital and literally watching the venom slowly make its way up his leg.
“I started watching the venom move up my leg from my ankle,” he explained on 580-Live with Dave Allen on MetroNews flagship station WCHS Radio in Charleston. “In the ambulance ride I watched it like an oil spill starting to move. It was real hot and it looked like an oil spill taking over the inside of my leg all the way up to my knee.”
That’s where it stopped–but not before doctors had to give him a second dose of anti-venom medication when the first one failed to reverse the effects. Now at home, Skaff said he’s working on therapy, but the pain makes it much tougher.
“I keep it propped up, then when I put my foot down everything rushes to the infected area on my ankle and it starts throbbing. It’s like being stung by a jellyfish. It starts stinging, throbbing, my ankle and foot swell up and it feels like my foot has fallen asleep for about two minutes. Then it finally starts to loosen up and I can start moving it again,” he said.
Doctors have told him to power through the soreness to keep his leg from getting stiff and to keep his circulation moving.
“Get up and move around as much as you can tolerate. When it gets stiff, just power through it and suck it up for a minute and a half or two minutes, then it loosens up,” he said.
Skaff said he’s heard from many other snakebite victims across the country who have sympathized with his condition and confirmed his process of recovery. He said some have told him the conditions may persist for several months.