'Her whole body was swollen, she was unrecognizable': Parents reveal how their little girl nearly died after being bitten by a 4.5ft-long RATTLESNAKE in her own backyard

  • Riley Stone was playing in her parents' garden in New Bern, North Carolina, when venomous timber rattlesnake twice sank its fangs into her leg
  • She became unconscious and stopped breathing within five minutes
  • The reptile's bite instantly immobilized Riley's central nervous system and her body began hemorrhaging internally as the venom broke down her tissues
  • It caused her entire body to swell and attacked her vital organs, after which her began shutting down; Riley was treated with anti-venom and survived
  • But Riley, now four, still has limited movement in her foot due to nerve damage and uses a brace to walk; doctors hope a muscle and tendon transplant will help

A girl who fought for her life aged two after being bitten by a 4.5-foot long rattlesnake has been left in need of a transplant to repair the long-term damage caused by the terrifying incident.

Riley Stone, now four, was playing in her parents' garden in New Bern, North Carolina, when a venomous timber rattlesnake twice sank its fangs into her leg. She became unconscious and stopped breathing within five minutes.

The reptile's bite instantly immobilized Riley's central nervous system and her body began hemorrhaging internally as the venom broke down her tissue.

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Injured: Riley Stone was left fighting for her life aged two (pictured) after being bitten by a rattlesnake in her parents' garden in New Bern, North Carolina
Injured: Riley Stone was left fighting for her life aged two (pictured) after being bitten by a rattlesnake in her parents' garden in New Bern, North Carolina

Injured: Riley Stone was left fighting for her life aged two (pictured) after being bitten by a rattlesnake in her parents' garden in New Bern, North Carolina 

Terrifying: The girl was taken to the hospital and then airlifted to Vidant Medical Center in Greenville, in critical condition after the attack

Terrifying: The girl was taken to the hospital and then airlifted to Vidant Medical Center in Greenville, in critical condition after the attack

It caused her entire body to swell and attacked her vital organs, after which her began shutting down.

Animal: The venomous timber rattlesnake (pictured) sank its fangs twice into the girl's leg

Animal: The venomous timber rattlesnake (pictured) sank its fangs twice into the girl's leg

The girl was taken to the hospital and then airlifted to Vidant Medical Center in Greenville, in critical condition after the attack.

Riley's parents, Lori and Michael Stone, said their daughter's body was so puffed and bruised as she fought for her life in hospital, she was unrecognizable.

She was treated with the anti-venom CroFab and spent five days in the ICU following the attack in July 2016 and fortunately pulled through.

But now, Riley still has limited movement in her foot due to nerve damage and uses a brace to walk.

'I was at work at the time but Riley was playing with her cousins in my brother's yard and she just started screaming,' her mother Lori, 42, said. 

'My husband Michael ran to her and he instantly saw blood dripping down her right leg.

'He rushed her inside the house and he called me straight away because they noticed clear puncture wounds her lower leg.

'Within minutes she had stopped crying completely and her eyes had glazed over. At that point we didn't know what had bitten her.

Symptoms: The reptile's bite instantly immobilized Riley's central nervous system and her body began hemorrhaging internally as the venom broke down her tissues

Symptoms: The reptile's bite instantly immobilized Riley's central nervous system and her body began hemorrhaging internally as the venom broke down her tissues

Dire consequences: It caused her entire body to swell and attacked her vital organs, after which her began shutting down

Dire consequences: It caused her entire body to swell and attacked her vital organs, after which her began shutting down

Damage: Riley suffered extensive injuries to her leg (pictured) due to the snake's bite

Damage: Riley suffered extensive injuries to her leg (pictured) due to the snake's bite

Location: The girl, who loves being outdoors, was in her parents' garden (pictured)

Location: The girl, who loves being outdoors, was in her parents' garden (pictured)

'They met the ambulance at the top of the street and rushed her to hospital. She stopped breathing in the ambulance and they bagged her.

'I met them at the hospital because it was near my work and I'll never forget the first time I saw them working on her tiny, lifeless body.

'By this point my brother had found the huge timber rattlesnake that bit her just bathing in the sun and he killed it.

'Because they knew what it was, they doctors at Carolina East gave her a dose of anti-venom which saved her life.

'She was then airlifted to Vidants and we didn't know if she would pull through. Honestly thought we might lose her.

'Her whole body was black and blue and she was bleeding internally.

'The venom was slowly killing her leg so they had to perform a procedure where they flayed both sides open to drain it.

'Her kidneys were shutting down and they just couldn't start an IV to give her the anti-venom because her blood was clotting so fast so they finally took her into surgery to put in a central line.

'Her whole body was swollen, she wasn't recognizable.'

Recovering: Riley (pictured in the hospital with her father, Michael Stone) was treated with anti-venom  and spent five days in the ICU following the attack in July 2016

Recovering: Riley (pictured in the hospital with her father, Michael Stone) was treated with anti-venom and spent five days in the ICU following the attack in July 2016

Long-term: The girl is now otherwise healthy but she still has mobility issues with her right leg (pictured after the incident)

Long-term: The girl is now otherwise healthy but she still has mobility issues with her right leg (pictured after the incident)

On the mend: Riley (pictured with the crew who airlifted her to the hospital) has been recovering since the accident

On the mend: Riley (pictured with the crew who airlifted her to the hospital) has been recovering since the accident

Effects: Riley walks with a brace and has limited movement in her right foot (her right leg is pictured after the incident), meaning she has to walk on her tip-toes

Effects: Riley walks with a brace and has limited movement in her right foot (her right leg is pictured after the incident), meaning she has to walk on her tip-toes

Hurt: The girl (pictured left with her older sister Madison, five) still deals with the damage caused to the nerves in her right leg by the venom

Hurt: The girl (pictured left with her older sister Madison, five) still deals with the damage caused to the nerves in her right leg by the venom

Riley was administered more than 20 doses of anti-venom throughout her seven days in ICU, before medics finally deemed her out of danger.

Almost two years after the accident, the little girl, who is otherwise healthy, still deals with the damage caused to the nerves in her right leg by the venom.

Riley walks with a brace and has limited movement in her right foot, meaning she has to walk on her tip-toes. Doctors hope this will be improved by a transplant in the near future.

'We're so lucky she's here and healthy,' Lori, who created a Go Fund Me for her daughter, said. 'She still has problems with her leg.A lot of the nerves in it are damaged and she needs to use a brace to walk.

'She has very limited movement in her foot, which we hope will be helped by a muscle and tendon transplant in the summer.

'Although we have insurance, a lot of the medical expenses aren't covered, and my husband has had to take time out from his engineering career to care for Riley since the accident.'

Memory: Riley's uncle had the rattlesnake that bit her stuffed after killing the animal

Memory: Riley's uncle had the rattlesnake that bit her stuffed after killing the animal

Procedure: Doctors hope a transplant will help Riley (pictured right with Madison) regain mobility in her right foot

Procedure: Doctors hope a transplant will help Riley (pictured right with Madison) regain mobility in her right foot

Lori, who also has a five-year-old named Madison and a baby on the way with Michael, 40, said Riley's uncle Michael Sokira, 40, now keeps the snake on display.

'That rattlesnake was a big as they come and my brother has actually had it stuffed for Riley,' she said. 'I hate looking at it, it's so scary.

'The girls just love being outside but I panic, especially when the spring and summer are coming up.

'We live in a house where the woods are at the end of our backyard and I have such outdoorsy children. I worry a lot.

'I never knew there were rattlesnakes in North Carolina, and we feel so lucky that we still have Riley because we thought we were going to lose her.' 

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