Potomac Woman Recovering From Snake Bite

POTOMAC, Md. - A Potomac, Md., mother is recovering for a Copperhead snake bite. Debra Panitch said she was cleaning her backyard and discovered two baby snakes and decided to pick up one of them to show her children. Within a few minutes, she had a snake bite to her thumb.

"At first, I didn't think much of it because I thought it was a garden snake. But then my hand started to swell and turn blue," Panitch said.

Doctors at Shady Grove Adventist Hospital treated the mother of three with 18 vials of anti-venom over the course of 18 hours.

Only two of the 27 snakes found in Maryland are considered venomous, according to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. They are the Copperhead and the Timber Rattlesnake.