WVU invites boy bitten by copperhead, bestfriend who helped to campus after WSAZ story

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (WSAZ) - Two 10-year-old boys got the ultimate lesson on Friday as they were invited up to the West Virginia University for a tour of the WVU Critical Care and Trauma facility.

“We saw the news story and we were very impressed that these two young boys first of all, were outside playing and not just sitting at home on video games,” Dr. Alison Wilson, executive director of WVU Critical Care and Trauma Institute and professor of surgery said. “We were really impressed that these young boys, when one friend was in trouble, the other young friend took action and did an intervention and was able to go get help. Too many times today people are too afraid to get involved and they intend to be very passive.”

Last month, WSAZ did a story on 10-year-old Kameron Compton being bitten by a copperhead snake while playing with his bestfriend, 10-year-old Bentley Shull, in Logan County. Bentley helped keep Kameron calm and placed a tourniquet above the bite.

During their visit on Friday, the boys were taken through a ‘Stop the Bleed’ course by Dr. Daniel Grabo, which teaches when to use a tourniquet and how to stop wounds from bleeding. Aside from the course, they were escorted through the emergency department and got to meet combat medics as well as other service members.

Bentley wants to be a combat medic when he grows up, while Kameron wants to be a sniper in the Air Force or Marines.

“We thought it would be a neat idea for them to get to come up here and see the HealthNet helicopter and to be able to come and tour our emergency department, as well as see the Da Vinci Robot in the operating room and then to actually meet some combat medics, some whom are with the National Guard and some others that are previous Green Beret Medics who are now here at medical school,” Dr. Wilson said.

“It was really fun,” Bentley said.

Both boys said they plan to attend WVU once they’re old enough.

Dr. Wilson recommends anyone wishing to take a ‘Stop the Bleed,’ or have one come to their church or school, contact their local hospital.

Click here for tips on how to treat a snake bite.

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