Marine visits Fort Sill, relives snake encounter

FORT SILL, Okla. Oct. 22, 2015 -- A Marine who lost half of his leg as the result of a snake bite in February returned to Fort Sill to say thank you to those who helped him survive.

Marine 1st Lt. Anthony Kemp arrived in Oklahoma Oct. 14 from his long-term recovery location at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethseda, Md. His first stop was Comanche County Memorial Hospital, the place he was taken immediately after the snake bite.

"A lot of the nurses and doctors were there, some of them knew I was coming but some didn't so it was nice to surprise them," said Kemp. "Someone made a Facebook group about my situation and about me. It got a lot of followings or likes, whatever the term is. There was a lot of support from this area."

THE BITE

The weather was warm in February causing hibernating snakes to come out of burrows to bask in the unusual temperature. Kemp, along with two fellow Marines decided they too would enjoy the weather and Feb. 7, made their way to Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge for a hike.

"We were at the halfway point of the (Field Artillery Basic Officer Leader Course) and wanted a cheap way to celebrate so we went out hiking," Kemp said. "We'd been out there before so we kind of knew the lay of the land. We went to a spot that we'd seen on previous trips and wanted to hike."

To get to the spot they wanted to climb, the Marines had to climb over boulders and rocks. They reached the peak and realized they still had plenty of time to continue hiking if they wanted. Looking to the west they spotted another peak and decided to go there. They began hiking down, jumping from rock to rock when Kemp stayed back to take a photo of his friends.

"About a second later, I went to jump off a rock to land on the ground when I felt a sharp pain in my calf," he said. "I felt something clamp down, let go and hiss. By the time I hit the ground my calf was swollen, it was bleeding and there was venom coming out. I'd just gotten bit by a snake."

Throughout the hike the three Marines were unable to get any cell phone reception, however in that moment their 911 call went through. They were told what to do and not do. Then the 911 dispatcher asked, "Where are you guys?"

"We kind of looked around and realized we were in the middle of nowhere," Kemp said.

They told the dispatcher they would meet at the car which wasn't too far away, however, despite its close proximity, they realized they couldn't go back the way they came, not with Kemp unable to use his leg. They decided to take a longer route that Kemp could traverse with the help of his friends.

"It hurt but it wasn't until about 20 minutes into this walk that things got ugly," said Kemp. "This might not be like your typical snakebite. This could actually go really south, really fast."

Kemp began getting sharp pains in his abdomen as his organs reacted to the venom. Just 30 minute after the snakebite, his lungs began shutting down.

"We ended up getting back to almost where we parked but between us and the car was this valley with a lot of rocks and I wasn't going to make it down and up," said Kemp.

A dam spanned the valley offering a risky option across, but officials installed fences to keep people from attempting to cross it.

Kemp decided it was worth the risk, though he might either fall into cold water or off the structure to the rocks below.

"It was my only chance of getting back to the car and getting help," he said.

They began crossing the narrow ledge of the dam, with Kemp climbing and often falling on his back only to get back up again. To his left, freezing water and to his right a two-story drop. The last fence to cross was tall with spikes on the top. He was unsure if they would make it over when a park ranger came running up, opened the fence for them, carried Kemp to his truck and gave him oxygen.

Kemp began to lose consciousness.

When the ambulance finally appeared it had been 45 minutes since the snakebite. They loaded him in the back and told him they wouldn't be able to save him by driving and asked if he wanted an airlift.

"Why is that a question?" he asked them. "Yes, please, call them."

Kemp blacked out only to wake up as he was being loaded into the helicopter.

"My head was right next to the pilot and I remember trying to make a joke or giving him a grin," said Kemp. "If I got a grin back, I'm probably not as bad as I think. But then the pilot looks at me stone-faced and I'm like, 'that's not good.'"

He was flown to Comanche County Memorial Hospital where he was given anti-venin and painkillers. He was then transferred to the University of Oklahoma Medical Center in Oklahoma City.

Kemp doesn't remember much from that week, though he does remember waking up six days after the bite, without a leg.

"My mom explained the situation, it was me or the leg," he said. "You want to talk about bravery. I laid down on a bed and got a bunch of narcotics, anyone can do that. My mom had to make the decision to amputate her son's leg to save his life, which, at the time we weren't even 100 percent sure that it was going to save my life. We just knew if it didn't happen, I was going to die. When you wake up and your mom's all teary eyed and tells you she had to make the decision to cut off your leg, you can't really get mad."

Kemp said according to the poison control people he talked to, he made some sort of record for the most anti-venin received. Most snake bites require between 12 and 16 vials. Kemp received 32. While he never saw the snake before or after, Kemp said he was told its size could be determined by the fang marks on his leg.

"Originally they said it was between 6 and 8 feet, but then they said it was between 8 and 10 feet," said Kemp. "I absolutely refuse to believe I missed a 10-foot snake. I think it was closer to 6."

After a month at the OU hospital, Kemp was transferred to Walter Reed where he has been rehabilitating.

BACK TO BASICS

In the morning Kemp is a regular patient at Walter Reed doing physical rehabilitation. Since April he's been able to walk.

Recently, he began running. His goal is to run three miles so he can complete the Marine Corps Physical Fitness Test, however running has proven to be more difficult than he expected.

"Walking was easy, running sucks," he said. "When you run you use your quads and hamstrings," he said. "I don't have a quad, or one with a functional purpose. All the work is done by my hamstring and your hamstring fatigues really quickly. I haven't run in eight months now so I'm strengthening that back up, getting it conditioned so I can get up to three miles."

In the afternoons, Kemp is the company officer and spends his time trying to help other Marines at the hospital. He said when he first arrived he felt uncomfortable being surrounded by others who were wounded in combat.

"I showed up at Walter Reed and it's packed with hardened-combat veterans with Bronze stars and Purple hearts. They are legit," he said. "As if it's not bad enough to be a lieutenant who hasn't gotten a military occupational specialty, I lost my leg to a rattlesnake. So there was an adjustment there. Luckily the Marines there are good dudes. They don't give me too much of a hard time."

While at Walter Reed, Kemp said he hopes to find a way to continue his service with the Marine Corps.

"Plan A is I want to stay in, get back to Fort Sill and try and continue my career as an artillery officer and finish up the course," he said. "That's plan A. Whether or not that happens, we'll see.

RETURN TO BITE SITE

Oct. 16 Kemp, along with friend Marine 1st Lt. Chace Nelson and Marine Maj. Eric Pickelsimer, returned to the site of the snake bite. Aided by his prosthetic leg, Kemp climbed up and down the terrain, sharing his story as he searched for signs of a snake or its burrow.

"Why not?" responded Kemp when asked why he wanted to come back. "I don't know," he said shrugging. "First off, it's really fun out here. I'm not going to lie. What happened to me was a really freak accident."

Kemp doesn't say it out loud but he does nod yes when asked if he hopes to see a snake. He doesn't worry about being bit again and said the odds are in his favor.

"We used to go up here a lot and we'd say there was nothing up here that could hurt us," Kemp said. "I guess we were wrong about that. I'm just playing the numbers. Does lightning strike twice? Last time there was 100-percent chance if I got bit it would be in the leg, now it's a 50/50 chance," he said laughing.

Kemp said he hopes those who hear about his experience are not deterred from going to the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. He wants to remind people that his encounter with a snake, while possible, does not happen often.

"A lot of people were like, "I'm never going back to the range again,'" Kemp said. "There is a lot of concern. I try to tell them, it was a freak accident. Go enjoy the outdoors. Please, enjoy your life."

Editor's note: Marine 1st Lt. Anthony Kemp didn't see the type of snake that bit him, but there are five venomous snakes that live in the vicinity of the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge and Fort Sill.