A student surnamed Lin and 12 of his schoolmates set off for the mountains at the trail head near Han Si Elementary School in Yilan County’s Datong Township on Wednesday last week. In the afternoon of Friday last week, while they were on their way to Cuifeng Lake by way of Kulu Forest Trail, Lin is thought to have used his hands to make a way through the undergrowth, startling a bamboo viper hiding inside. He was then bitten by the snake on his right wrist, causing his forearm to become swollen. His schoolmates immediately tied rope around his right upper arm and telephoned for help.
After receiving the appeal for help, the National Airborne Service Corps (NASC) dispatched a helicopter to pick Lin up at Dongshan in Datong Township and contacted the Yilan fire department, which arranged to pick him up from the NASC on the athletics track of Yilan’s Luodong Sports Park and transport him to Saint Mary’s Hospital in Luodong.
Lin was the only student transported by the helicopter down the mountain, during which time he was conscious but experiencing intermittent pain. He was reluctant to give details about what caused the snake bite. After Lin arrived in the hospital, he was very concerned with his physical well-being and asked the doctor questions such as whether his arm would need to be amputated.
Lee Chi-chung, chief of emergency medicine at Saint Mary’s Hospital Luodong, said an injection should, of course, be given as soon as possible, and that, following a medical evaluation, it was decided that Lin did not need an amputation. He also said that Lin was very fortunate, for he was transported by helicopter down the mountain and received prompt treatment. As for whether the snake bite would endanger his life, he said that it depended on how much venom made its way into the body, and how long it was in there: The greater the volume and the longer it stays in the body, the more risky it becomes, but an individual’s physiology is also a relevant factor.
(Liberty Times, Translated By Ethan Zhan)
TODAY’S WORDS
今日單字
今日單字
1. dispatch v. 出動; 派遣
例: The Pentagon dispatched two fighter jets to send a message to a country in Asia. (五角大廈出動兩架戰機向亞洲的一個國家傳遞訊息。)
2. reluctant adj.不願
例: He said he loved her, but he was reluctant to kiss her.
(他說他愛她，只是不願吻她。)
3. endanger v. 危及
例: Your smoking habit might endanger your children’s health.
(你的抽菸習慣很可能會危及你家小孩的健康。)
林男與另十二名同校同學，上周三從宜蘭縣大同鄉寒溪國小附近登山口入山，上周五下午在從古魯林道要去翠峰湖途中，林疑似用手撥開樹叢前進時，驚動躲藏在裡面的青竹絲，右手腕遭蛇吻，導致右下臂紅腫，大家趕緊拿繩索綁住其右上臂，並打電話求援。
空勤總隊獲報出動直升機，到大同鄉桐山順利將學生接下山就醫，並與宜蘭縣消防局聯繫，雙方約在羅東運動公園田徑場交人，轉送羅東聖母醫院救治。
林獨自一人搭直升機下山，運送過程中意識清醒但不時露出痛苦表情，面對事發原因不願多談。到院後他則擔心自身安危，詢問醫師被蛇咬到，會不會被截肢等問題。
羅東聖母醫院急診室主任李志忠表示，打血清的時機當然是「越快越好」。評估後林男目前不需截肢，而且他的運氣很好，有直升機及早運送下山接受治療。至於被蛇咬是否會危及性命，得視毒液進入體內的量與時間；越多、越長就越有致命危機，當然也會與個人體質有關。
（自由時報記者王揚宇）
