Ree Lawson was having a quiet day in late July at her home in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, when her life was upended by a sudden, violent encounter with nature. Beneath the jasmine vines at her property, there was a copperhead snake, and before Lawson knew it, the snake bit her hand. Lawson plays bass for a local band called The Goofy Footers, so her first concern was that she might lose her hand. And things only got worse from there. According to People, Lawson said the bite was immediate and agonizing. “Kind of like I’ve been shot,” said Lawson. She says she was terrified, but her husband knew that they had to act quickly before the situation got worse. The two then began a frantic race against the clock that exposed a startling gap in local emergency medical preparedness. They were met with horror Their first stop was a nearby urgent care clinic, which made sense if their intention was to get the quickest emergency care possible. The staff almost immediately informed them that their facility was unequipped to handle venomous snake bites. Lawson was then told she needed to go to a hospital emergency room right away. Her husband reportedly sped to the nearest emergency room in Murrells Inlet, with the assumption that a full hospital would naturally carry the antivenom they were seeking. However, to their horror, the medical staff at the Murrells Inlet facility informed them that they did not stock the specific antivenom used to neutralize copperhead venom. As the hours continued ticking by, Lawson’s hand tissue continued to be damaged by the venom. The fear of permanent disability grew heavier with every passing minute. This agonizing delay highlighted a dangerous reality that many residents face: not every emergency room is equipped with specialized, highly expensive antivenom treatments like CroFab or Anavip. “It was a few hours before I got the antivenom, which was absolutely terrifying and horrifying,” Lawson said, per People. “You spend the whole time thinking… I’m going to lose this hand, or I’m going to lose this finger, and it’s terrifying.” Eventually, after a multi-hour runaround across three separate medical facilities, Lawson was transferred to Grand Strand Medical Center. Reportedly, this was the only facility in the area that possessed the required antivenom. Lawson said that by the time she was admitted, her swelling and discoloration had progressed significantly, but the doctors were fortunately able to halt the progression of the venom. While the ordeal left her shaken and exhausted, she confirmed that her hand was still intact. There are urgent shortcomings in emergency response protocols The CDC warns people in such situations, writing, “If bitten, receiving antivenom as soon as possible helps limbs to recover faster and it lessens the chance that a limb will be disabled after copperhead snake envenomation.” Thanks to Lawson and her husband’s quick thinking and eventual access to care, they were able to save her hand, and she is now recovering while awaiting the day she can finally get back on stage to perform with her band. However, the emergency response protocols for wildlife encounters in coastal South Carolina have been left exposed to some truly urgent shortcomings, because this is something that could have gone completely differently were it not for the victims themselves.