Karl P Schmidt kept a journal of his last 24 hours alive after being bitten by a venomous snake

WHEN this snake expert was bitten on duty he didn’t seek medical advice. Instead, he chronicled the last 24 hours of his life in a journal.

WHEN you look at the cold hard facts, it’s glaringly obvious that Karl P Schmidt was the most dedicated employee the world has ever seen.

The famed herpetologist had developed a reputation for identifying snakes, so much so he had many species named after him.

It was September 1957 and an employee from the Lincoln Park Zoo had handed Mr Schmidt a snake to identify.

He noted the 30-inch snake was brightly covered and had a head similar to venomous species found in Sub-Saharan Africa known as the boomslang snake.

Before declaring the species, Mr Schmidt wanted a closer look and picked up the snake for a closer examination.

However, the snake lunged and bit him on the left thumb with such force he was left with two three-millimetre puncture wounds.

As Mr Schmidt didn’t believe the bite would be fatal, he refused medical attention and decided to record the effect the venom was having on him in his journal.

Ultimately, this would be a bad move because within 24 hours he was pronounced dead.

But he did leave documentation of the horrific effects of the bite.

The boomslang snake even looks menacing.

The harrowing account of the last agonising hours of his life was recently revealed in a video produced for PRI’sScience Friday with Ira Flatow.

Here is what it is like to die from a snakebite:

“4:30 — 5:30pm — strong nausea but without vomiting. During a trip to Homewood went on a suburban train,” his first entry read.

“5:30 — 6:30pm strong chill and shaking followed by fever of 101.7. Bleeding of mucus membranes in the mouth began about 5:30, apparently mostly from gums.

“8:30pm ate two pieces of milk toast.

“9 to 12:20am slept well. Urination at 12:20am mostly blood but a small amount. Took a glass of water at 4:30am, followed by violent nausea and vomiting, the contents of the stomach being the undigested supper. Felt much better and slept until 6:30am”

“September 26. 6:30am: Temperature 98.2. Ate cereal and poached eggs on toast and apple sauce and coffee for breakfast. No urine with an ounce or so of blood about every three hours. Mouth and nose continuing to bleed, not excessively.”

This would be the last entry Mr Schmidt would make in his diary because shortly after he was found covered in sweat and unresponsive.

After failed attempts resuscitation, the snake expert was taken to hospital and at 3pm he was pronounced dead as the result of “respiration paralysis”.

The autopsy report detail showed Mr Schmidt’s was bleeding from his lungs, eyes, heart, kidney and brain at the time of his death.

Talk about giving it all to your job.