Dad's desperate rush to save son after deadly encounter on bike ride

A dad has detailed his 11-year-old son's terrifying "brush with death" after a minor fall while on a bike ride last week.

Zach Vogel and Ethan set out on their usual mountain-side track before dinner but they "didn't expect things to change so fast," the father revealed.

Moments after stopping for a quick photo together on a path they frequented often — and about an hour into the ride — Ethan stumbled and fell headfirst over his handlebars landing directly on top of a "hidden" prairie rattlesnake.

The venomous snake — which can be deadly to humans — had bitten him on the right pectoral near his armpit, sending the pair into panic.

"The venom works fast. This was not mild or moderate. It was extreme," Zach revealed on Facebook last Thursday, two days after the incident. The panicked father said he didn't know what had happened until he "heard the rattle next to his bike".

"Ethan saw and felt the snake strike him and [looked] back to me in a panic," he recalled.

Desperate rush to save son's life

The 11-year-old stripped off his shirt to reveal the bite marks on his chest. And right then and there Zach "began making decisions" to save his son's life.

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He called 911 and waited for help on the trail at North Table Mountain in Golden, Colorado, where they live, placing Ethan on his right side with his heart above the wound. But the venom was "already doing its work" on the 11-year-old's body just five to seven minutes after the bite.

"[His] lips went numb, white spots [appeared] on [his] cheeks and the pain [was] setting in," Zach recalled. Ethan was struggling to breathe and his heart rate was increasing.

Less than ten minutes after the fall, Ethan's "body began purging bile" and he lost all feeling in his face. The worried dad heard sirens in the distance thankful help was on its way — in the meantime, he tried to be calm to help slow down his son's heart rate.

Boy's blood pressure begins to 'tank'

Paramedics arrived at the mountain 19 minutes after being called. By this time, other bike riders had stopped to help the father and son. Ethan was hoisted into an ambulance but his blood pressure was "tanking" so he was treated with steroids and "other anti-inflammation meds".

Eventually, Ethan was given 10 vials of anti-venom at the hospital before being transferred to another and placed in the ICU. Eventually, the boy's vital signs started stabilising but full recovery will take up to 20 days, Zach revealed.

Long road to recovery

Doctors reportedly told the father a bite on the chest was the best-case scenario because a bite on the wrist or ankle, where more veins are present, could carry and circulate the venom, Singletracks reported.

A GoFundMe has been set up for the family to help cover the expensive and unexpected medical bills. In the US, antivenom costs thousands of dollars, CBS News reports.

"Ethan has been a fighter and is home recovering but he still has a long road to recovery ahead of him," fundraiser organiser and friend Heather Manuel said. Ethan said he's not afraid to jump back on his bike.

Prairie rattlesnakes are native to the western United States, southwestern Canada, and northern Mexico. They are not found in Australia.

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