Chris Howarth was visiting his parents in Oroville, in Butte County, with his wife Jenny and their three children in May.
He stepped outside to check the waterline after a stretch of wet weather, felt something sharp underfoot, and looked down to see the snake. It struck twice on his lower right leg, once shallowly and once into a vein, as reported by SFGATE.
Within minutes his tongue had gone numb, his lymph nodes had swollen and he was struggling to breathe.
His wife Jenny drove him to Oroville Hospital, where he received his first dose of antivenom about an hour after the bite. 18 vials went in over the first 24 hours.
Three days later his legs swelled and his condition deteriorated, requiring plasma and platelet infusions alongside more antivenom.
