It isn't clear what the next steps will be for the family.
A 5-year-old is battling the effects of a snake bite after she was bitten by a rattlesnake while out for a morning hike with her family in Texas.
Emily Oehler was out with her mom, dad and two siblings at Longhorn Cavern State Park in Burnet, Texas, Saturday when things took a harrowing turn.
"We were walking around, just messing around, looking at things," Emily’s mom, Alicia Oehler, told InsideEdition.com. “And [Emily] just came flying around that bush like bloody murder just screaming, 'Snake snake!'"
Oehler said Emily’s foot quickly began to swell and she was in tremendous pain.
“I asked, ‘What bit you?’ and, ‘What kind of snake was it?’ Oehler said. “She said, ‘I don’t know — I just heard a rattle.’ She was getting sleepy. She was screaming."
Park rangers later found the snake and identified it as a 4-foot-long western diamondback rattlesnake, one of the most poisonous in North America.
EMS rushed Emily to a hospital, but she required anti-venom, so they later transported her by helicopter to a hospital in Austin.
Throughout the week, Emily has received more than 40 doses of anti-venom. Her mom said her condition continues to fluctuate. She’s developed blisters and bruises on her leg.
And her parents said the struggle won’t stop with the hospital, as she will have to have rehabilitation therapy.
They are now warning others of the dangers.
“Wear snake boots; be prepared; don’t take your eyes off your kids," Wes Oehler, Emily’s dad, said. "It doesn’t take but a split--second."
The parents, who have taken off work to be by Emily’s side, have started a GoFundMe campaign to help with hospital bills.
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