UPDATE (10/10/17): After spending 5 days in the hospital and receiving 18 vials of antivenom, Brenli and her family were finally able to return home on Monday. Brenli's dad, Trent Sharp says she is still swollen and in pain and has a long recovery ahead, but they are "ready to face it head on." As mentioned in the original article below, antivenom does not come cheap. At about $2,500 a vial, the Sharps are facing an astronomical medical bill. If you would like to help ease that financial burden, a GoFundMe page for Brenli Sharp has been set up.

Brenli Sharp home - rattlesnake bite
Brenli Sharp at home (Photo courtesy the Sharp family)
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ORIGINAL STORY:

A two-year-old child was bitten on her foot twice as she and her mother were entering their home near Iowa Park.

The child's father, Trent Sharp, in a social media posting, says 2-year-old Brenli was walking onto the family's front porch at around 8:30 pm Thursday (10/5) evening with her mom when a rattlesnake struck the child twice on the leg.

The snake apparently did not give a warning with its tell-tale rattle until after the child was struck.

The child's mother rushed the girl to United Regional. She has reportedly been taken to Cook Children's hospital in Fort Worth. The child has received multiple vials of anti-venom as of Friday afternoon. According to a June 2017 report from KXAN:

Antivenom can save your life, but it doesn’t come cheap.  Each vial costs about $2,500 and treatment requires a few vials on average. One professor at Texas A&M University’s College of Veterinary Medicine says it is not uncommon for medical bills to total $50,000 or more after a bite.

Friends and family have set up a Go Fund Me page to assist the family with medical expenses.

Here’s the latest update on Brenli’s condition from her family, as of 4pm Saturday:

As of 2 pmish today Brenli has had 16 vials of anti-venom. She is [talking], Laughing, and drawing. It is a long road but it seems like she is starting to get better. THANK YOU for all your love, support, prayers, and general care. From my family to yours God bless you.

Little girl bitten rattlesnake Wichita Falls Brenli Sharp
Brenli Sharp via GoFundMe
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