ELOY, Ariz. (KPHO/Gray News) — A man in Arizona nearly lost his left hand after he was bitten by a rattlesnake.
Tommy Niebrzydowski was the first rattlesnake bite case of 2025 at Banner Health in Casa Grande, Arizona. He was bit on Jan. 31 while working on his yard.
Niebrzydowski said he noticed that his backyard waterfall had low water pressure and decided to check the water valve.
He is used to checking his yard for black widows and rattlesnakes having lived in Eloy, Arizona, for more than five years. Niebryzdowski said on that day, he didn’t see anything and never heard a rattle.
Niebrzydowski even shook the box to make sure the coast was clear. He then went in to check the water valve, and that was when the rattlesnake bit his left hand.
“I could feel it going into my arm. As he bit me, it just ran up into my bloodstream and started to climb up through my flesh,” he said. “I could just feel the poison starting to turn into like an ache. If you bumped it or touched it or tried to move it, it was like the worst burning you ever felt,” he explained.
Niebrzydowski was home alone when the rattlesnake struck, but he knew he needed to get to the closest hospital. He drove to Banner Health emergency room in Casa Grande, where he received his first dose of anti-venom.
As he was receiving treatment, Niebrzydowski learned his condition was critical because he had done something he wasn’t supposed to do.
“I got the wise idea to put a tourniquet on it and keep the poison out, that way so I could drive and try to keep the poison out of my arm,” he said. “When I got to Banner, they took the tourniquet off and said that I shouldn’t have done that. That’s not what you do because I super concentrated all that venom just in this part of my hand and arm.”
Niebrzydowski said it put him at risk of losing his left hand.
He was transported to the Banner University Medical Center in Phoenix where, after multiple rounds of anti-venom and intensive care, they were able to save his hand.
Although rattlesnake bites are unusual this time of year, Banner Poison Center said cases like Niebrzydowski prove they can happen anytime.
“This is certainly the low season for rattlesnake envenomations, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t occur. It still can happen, and remaining vigilant even though this is a colder time of year when we don’t see it as commonly, it still can happen,” Dr. Meghan Spyres said.
Banner Health emphasizes checking your surroundings, whether around your house or on the trails. If you hear a rattle, stay as far away as possible.
If you’re bitten by a rattlesnake, doctors advise you to seek medical treatment immediately. They warn against taking measures in your own hands, such as using a tourniquet or trying to suck out the venom yourself.
“If a bite occurs, go to the emergency department. Do not use first aid measures such as applying tight bandages, cutting into the wound, tourniquet, or trying to suck out the venom. This does not help and may increase injury,” Dr. Anne-Michella Ruha said.
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