...a young boy is in the hospital recovering from a rattlesnake bite that took 40 vials of antivenom to counteract.
Judging from the description of the snake it was probably an Eastern Diamondback, and if it was a 6-footer (probably not, people always overestimate the length of snakes in a snakebite incident) it would have been capable of injecting huge amounts of venom, and it got the boy twice on the leg. Kind of late in the season for a snakebite, but this is Low Country South Carolina we're talking about, and it's been warm so far this fall.
If you're not familiar with modern treatment for snakebite, be advised that cutting the bite and using suction to suck the poison out doesn't work, and has the potential to make things worse. Just get to the hospital as quickly as you possibly can so they can start treatment with antivenom. No tourniquets, either, unless you definitely wish to lose a limb.
