Chris Howarth was bitten twice by a rattlesnake while visiting family in Oroville, California, initially mistaking the bite for thorns in his mother’s garden. The incident quickly turned serious, requiring 54 rounds of anti-venom across two hospitals after the first facility ran out of its supply and Howarth had to be airlifted to Stanford Hospital for additional treatment.
The ordeal left Howarth with a $1.3 million bill before insurance, according to his wife Jenny, who set up a GoFundMe to help cover the family’s remaining costs. The fundraiser, which asks for $12,000, has already raised $10,000. Jenny said her husband is still recovering and is around “80%” of the way back to normal, though lingering fatigue has made day-to-day life difficult. The family has also gone without a paycheck for nearly two months, since Howarth hasn’t been able to work since late May.
Since the story broke, readers have flooded the internet with reactions ranging from disbelief to outright anger over the cost of Howarth’s care.
One commenter, who claimed familiarity with veterinary pricing, pointed out that anti-venom for animals runs a fraction of the human cost, writing that the “dose amount is exactly the same for a human,” and calling the discrepancy “theft big time.” The comment racked up hundreds of likes.
Others zeroed in on the $61,000-a-night charge at Stanford Hospital. One reader who said they’d been treated there before called it “terribly overrated” and argued it should be “nowhere near that expensive.” Another was more blunt, writing simply that a hospital charging that much is really “a business.”
Not every reaction was outraged; some pointed out how common rattlesnakes are in the area, with one local noting they avoid a wood pile near their home during warmer months for that reason. Others were lighter, with one person simply asking what happened to the snake.