JaceHicksRecoveryFund

13 Year Old Jace Hicks was camping with his Grandparents on Monday July 17th @ Bird Creek campground in Featherville, Idaho when he was bitten by a rattlesnake. His grandparents drove him 4 miles to Featherville, where local residents got him stable until life flight life flighted him to St. Luke's in Boise, Idaho. He has had two different sessions of anti-venom treatments, into his IV. In total he has had 14 vials and each vial costs $100,000. They moved him from the pediatric intensive care unit into the regular pediatric ward. This doesn’t at all mean he is in the clear, but it does mean that they are no longer seriously worried about it all being life-threatening. So he is definitely going to live and COULD also have lasting nerve/tissue damage, from what I understand. The doctor said that rattlesnake venom can keep killing his tissue and do more damage, for up to two weeks or so after the bite. Luckily his anti venom is FINALLY working and his condition and blood work just bolted up in the last twelve hours. Just to be safe, he will have to do another small antivenom treatment in a few days just to be sure that any residual venom is being fought off still, and no matter what, he is going to have his blood drawn three more times, every three days-ish (unless he starts swelling again, then it’s a blood draw immediately) to make sure he is still getting better. If his blood work does NOT get better, but the swelling and black skin is still getting better, he will have to do even more anti-venom treatments until it all starts getting to where we need it to be.

The most exciting part of this news though!!! Yesterday morning the family was told to plan for him to stay in the hospital for probably the next two weeks at least…..today, because his blood work numbers improved so much in such a short time (since 4am), they were told that they are technically now in the range that’s considered high enough to not require him to be a full time patient in the hospital. His numbers are good enough that he can be discharged while all of this is being monitored, as long as he stays very close to the hospital for next 48 hours or so. If he does well outside of the hospital, with them watching him constantly, and without his IV meds and fluids, then they’ll allow them to take him home but will have to keep in regular contact with his doctor in Twin Falls so that he can monitor his blood work, swelling, and discoloration/decomp of his hand and arm. At that point, they will still have to come back to Boise for his other anti venom treatment(s), and will have to stay in the hospital for at least 24 hours after the last vial is given to him. He will also have to come for weekly checks with the specialist that will monitor the inside healing of all his tissue and nerves, and watch closely to make sure everything is still going well with the rebuilding and healing of all internal damage that has gone up his entire left arm. The family is traveling back and forth from Twin Falls to Boise, and having to stay in a Hotel across from St. Lukes. Both Parents Cody and Katie Hicks have had to take extensive leave of absence from work to be by Jace's side, and will have to endure many financial hardships over the next couple of months for Jace's medical care. Any donation will help, please share.