Despite the warnings, it only took a momentary lapse in judgment for Jerianne to wind up in the intensive-care unit at Children's Hospital with a potentially fatal dose of venom in her bloodstream. According to doctors, she required the same amount of antivenin it takes to save a 300-pound man from an average bite.
On Easter Sunday, Jerianne and her friend, Madison Jones, were playing ball when they got caught up in a game of tag with Madison's brother. Jerianne and Madison ran onto a dirt path across the street that is used to access power lines. At the time, the path was filled with new plant growth. In some spots, the weeds were knee-deep. There was no warning, not even a tell-tale rattle.
Jerianne first ran to her grandparents' home, though she was too excited to punch in the entry code correctly. She and Madison next tried the home of a family friend, who phoned Jerianne's parents, then 911.
"She was sweating all over, her arms, her face, her forehead," said Jerianne's mother, Tammy Young. "Her skin was twitching like she had 100 bees running underneath, all over her body. Her nerves had just gone crazy."
Jerianne was initially taken to Palomar Hospital, then transferred to Children's, where she remained for 12 days. By the time she arrived, her entire leg had begun turning black.
Her father, Steve Young, said severe swelling in Jerianne's leg was choking off the blood supply to the muscles. Doctors had to open up the leg to relieve the pressure, a surgical procedure known as a fasciotomy.
"She lost quite a bit of muscle tissue and skin due to the severity of the bite," Steve Young said. "If they hadn't done that (surgery), she probably would have lost all of the muscle in her lower leg."
Maya Pring, the orthopedic surgeon who worked on Jerianne, said there was an initial concern that she might lose her foot and the lower part of her leg.
Jerianne, an honor roll student who runs cross country and plays soccer, softball and baseball, has spent four months recovering from surgery, which required three lengthy incisions and skin grafts to replace tissue that died from the venom.
"The night I came back (from the hospital) they were having all-star tryouts for softball," Jerianne said. "It was kind of hard not being able to participate."
Though Jerianne's recovery is progressing well, she still has a small open wound on her leg that has not closed. Her parents have suspended physical therapy until it heals.
Tammy Young said she hopes that as a result of hearing her daughter's story, others will realize how severe rattlesnake bites can be and will educate children and remind them to watch where they step and avoid areas where snakes commonly dwell.
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