Boy recovers from snake bite, but family faces more than $200,000 medical bill

BRANDON (FOX 13) - Wednesday afternoon, Kyden Debyah of Hernando County was happy to be wheeled away from Brandon Regional Hospital.

Two days earlier, the 6-year-old was playing in the backyard when he was bitten by a venomous snake. 

”I was by the tire swing and then I just started screaming,” he said. “I thought it was an ant, but I looked down and didn’t see anything.”

“I looked under the tire swing where he was playing and there was a snake coiled up. I’ve lived here my whole life. I knew it was a pygmy rattlesnake,” said his mother, Amber Debyah.

Kyden had to be given 18 costly vials of anti-venin. His mother says the treatment is not covered by their insurance. 

“The anti-venin is, our cost is $11,000 per vial. He had 18 of them,” Debyah said. "Financially, it’s very tough. I’m a stay at home mom. We have four kids. My husband's a contractor. He gets paid by the day, by the job,” she added.

They are raising money online to try and off-set the bills. They say the response has been overwhelming.

“It means more than we can ever say. I don't know how to thank everybody enough,” said Debyah.