Toddler Adriano Wah wasn't fazed when he was bitten by a diamondback rattlesnake near his Bitter Springs home last week.

The 19-month-old didn't cry when the rattler attacked him from beneath his toy grocery cart, puncturing his leg with two fang wounds. He didn't get frightened until strangers gathered around him for a morning-long odyssey last Tuesday.

Adriano's parents drove him to the top of Johnson's Cut a few miles north of Bitter Springs so they could pick up cell-phone reception. An ambulance arrived from Page for transport to Page Hospital, where he was airlifted to Flagstaff Medical Center.

Adriano is expected to make a full recovery, thanks to the quick response and the work of FMC's pediatric intensive care unit.

Doctors made two lateral incisions around Adriano's swollen leg to relieve pressure, said his mother, Winona Wah, in a telephone interview from FMC last weekend.

"If they didn't make that choice, he would have most likely lost his leg," said Winona, who also has two daughters, ages 4 and 10.

Carol Gora, a registered nurse in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit who observed Adriano's treatment, told hospital staff that he required several doses of antivenin.

Janet Dean, spokesperson for the hospital, said the hospital gets about six or fewer snake bites a year. But in the last 30 days the hospital has treated two bite victims.

A WALK TURNS DANGEROUS

The Wahs live in a small mobile home across Highway 89 from the Bitter Springs housing complex. Every morning they walk to the nearby home of the parents of Winona's husband, Brian Wah, for coffee. About 7:15 that morning, Kayla and Adriano were walking ahead of Winona.

"He went to go push his toy grocery cart, and it was underneath there," Winona said. "He didn't feel it. I didn't know it struck him. I saw the snake, and I thought it didn't faze him. Then I saw the snake go backwards."

Adriano was bleeding from two puncture wounds. His sister Kayla had alerted their mother to the attack by turning around and flashing wide eyes.

Brian Wah eliminated the threat with a stab with his shovel, and later a Navajo Nation police officer identified the beige snake as a diamondback. The snake was only a foot to 1Ãn feet in length, Winona said.

Classic Lifeguard of Page lifted Adriano to FMC, which has the only pediatric ICU in northern Arizona.

"Without our unit, the toddler would have had to be flown to Phoenix, much farther from home," said FMC spokesperson Starla Addair.

While family members stayed at the Taylor House just across the street from FMC, six days of treatment involved inserting a sponge into the affected area, and suctioning out fluids that caused pressure. The wound was expected to be closed up Monday night.

Adriano had experienced "compartmental syndrome," which is hard swelling of the muscle compartments in the leg that can cut off circulation, according to FMC staff. The syndrome, which is common with snake bites, put the boy at risk of losing his leg

SEDATION AND COMFORT

The little boy had to be sedated because his age prevented him from understanding why he hurt so bad and why he needed the tubes giving him IV's and drains, Gora explained.

"They did an excellent job, even when I was just scared and nervous about everything," said Winona, 30. "They comforted me and reassured me that everything was going to be fine."

Winona also is thankful to her former co-workers at the Department of Economic Security office in Page for their financial assistance, and for friends and family members who called or visited. She also has high regard for Classic Lifeguard.

The attack stunned her, because snakes are not generally found in her family's compound.

"I never have seen anything like this happen before," she said. "I feel protected in my area. We have dogs and cats around, but somehow this happened. Maybe it was because it has been cooling down and maybe it was because of the rain."

Daily Sun correspondent Todd Glasenapp can be contacted at dtglasenapp@Route89.com. The Daily Sun's Larry Hendricks contributed to this report.