Teen girl left fighting for her life after being bitten by a venomous rattlesnake while on a bike ride

Published: 23:29, 5 April 2026 | Updated: 23:58, 5 April 2026 A California teenager was left fighting for her life after she was bitten by a venomous rattlesnake while enjoying a bike ride with her friend late last month.  Bailey Vanden Bossche, 14, and her friend Zoey Bark, were mountain biking on the Wendy Trail in Newbury Park at around 5.30pm on March 20 when she slipped on an uneven path as she was trying to walk her bike through a particularly narrow section, the Ventura County Star reports.  She fell into the tall brush and her bike landed on top of her. When Bailey got up, she stepped on the snake, her mother, Brooke Cushman, said. At first, Bailey and her friend said they thought she had just broken her ankle, noting that only one puncture wound was visible. 'I got up, my ankle was bleeding, but I didn't feel a bite,' Bailey recounted to CBS Los Angeles.  But soon, she said, her 'face started tingling and then my hearing went out, and I like couldn't - my body just didn't feel good.'  The girls were still a couple of miles from their home as her symptoms progressed, and they decided to call Bailey's father who lived nearby. 'It was scary because we were by ourselves and her phone was like, her dad couldn't track her location, so I was scared that he couldn't find us,' Zoey said.  Bailey Vanden Bossche, 14, was bit by a rattlesnake while mountain bike riding late last month By the time her father arrived on the scene, her ankle had already swollen to the size of a golf ball Bailey's father was ultimately able to track them down, and when he took off his daughter's shoe, her ankle had already swollen to the size of a golf ball. She could no longer move, at which point Bailey's father called 911.  By the time firefighters arrived on the scene, Bailey also started having trouble breathing. 'You could see her face distorted and the muscles going in different ways,' her grandfather, Bryan Vanden Bossche, recounted. 'So it was a very scary moment.'  Quick-thinking first responders immediately gave the teen some medicine to help slow the reaction and carried Bailey out on a stretcher designed for remote rescues. Meanwhile, Cushman was left in disbelief as she spoke to first responders - and learned that rattlesnake bites can be fatal. 'That hit me like a train,' the worried mother said.  Bailey's grandfather, Bryan Vanden Bossche, recounted how her face was distorted Bailey went on to spend five days in the hospital, followed by a trip to a pediatrician, a return trip to the emergency room to rule out a blood clot, and then a visit to urgent care when her foot broke out in a rash. 'There are issues with anti-venom,' explained Bryan, who worked as a firefighter for 30 years. He noted that patients could have allergic reactions or blood clots from the medication. Fortunately, though, Bailey did not suffer any tissue damage, but may require physical therapy to get out of her crutches. At the same time, she must monitor her ankle for any complications. Despite the terrifying ordeal, Bailey said she will not stay away from the trails. There has been an uptick in rattlesnake bites across California so far this year But her bite was the third one that week, and it came amid an uptick in snake bites due to the unseasonably warm weather. Just one day before Bailey's accident, a woman in Moorpark died from a rattlesnake bite, and an Orange County man died after a rattlesnake bit him while he was hiking in Irvine earlier this year. In total, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says there are about 7,000 to 8,000 bites each year in the US, with an average of five people dying from them each year. Doctors recommend that those who do get bitten by a rattlesnake keep the affected area at or below heart level, do not apply ice, do not cut the wound, and do not suck out the venom. Instead, doctors say patients should seek help immediately.  No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.