AMARILLO, TEXAS -- Update 3:30p
The boy bitten by the rattlesnake during recess at Bushland Elementary Thursday is still in the ICU.
According to Superintendent Don Wood, the boy remains in the ICY to make sure the venom is out. He will stay in the hospital at last another day but swelling has gone down and he is doing much better.
Wood said the boy is smiling and watching TV.
A 5-year-old kindergarten student that was bitten by a rattlesnake during recess at Bushland Elementary is in stable condition.
Don Wood, Superintendent for Bushland ISD, tells Pronews 7 the boy was transported to a local hospital where he is now in stable condition.
"Responders came very quick and it didn't take them less than a minute to respond after we got the call," Wood said.
This is the first rattlesnake bite on school grounds in years, Wood said. Since the school district is in a rural area, it has specific protocol in place to deal with this type of situation.
According to scanner traffic, the boy was 5-years-old. He was bitten during recess time on the soccer field.
"It has definitely heightened our awareness of what can happen out here in the prairie," Wood said. "We are a rural school district and in weather like this, we're going to take extra precautions to inform teachers and students."
Wood says officials will now search the area to ensure no more rattlesnakes pose a threat.
Rattlesnakes are venomous snakes and are the leading cause of snake injuries. 82 percent of all snake fatalities come from rattlesnakes.
