Brownwood Jaycees will host a fundraiser for the world famous rattlesnake handler Jackie Bibby, the Texas Snake Man, on Saturday, November 10th from 10am until 6pm in the Hastings parking lot on Main Street.
Brisket sandwiches, chips and a drink will be served for $6/plate during the fundraiser. Snow cones are also going to be available by donation. Businesses in Brownwood and Early can call in for free delivery of multiple orders.
According to organizers, the funds raised will be used to help Bibby offset medical expenses and purchase a prosthetic leg after being bitten by a rattlesnake on September 12th which caused amputation of his leg to be necessary. Bibby will also visit the event on Saturday to meet with fans according to organizer Pat McLaughlin of the Brownwood Jaycees.
“We are just looking out for one of our own,” said McLaughlin. “We think a lot of Jackie and he’s done a lot for us and the community.”
McLaughlin stated that some people think those in show business have a lot of money and that is just not the case. He explained that the prosthesis Bibby will need costs approximately $50,000.
In an interview with Bibby on Tuesday afternoon, he stated that he is overwhelmed by the show of support he has seen since his accident with the rattler.
“I am absolutely stunned by the outpouring of love by individuals who care,” said Bibby. “So many people came to see me while I was at Parkland (Hospital), churches were praying for me and those who are helping to organize fundraisers like this to help.”
Bibby, who has been handling snakes for 43 years, since he was 18-years-old, stated that he was in a hotel in Addison, Texas doing a private show for a company when he was bitten by what he says was a huge rattlesnake.
“There were about 300 spectators and I was carrying a snake around and didn’t pay attention enough to another snake and it bit me above the boot in the calf,” said Bibby. “It was a huge one, about a 6 foot snake and gave me a massive envenomation.”
He explained that he was bitten so badly that he didn’t bother using an extractor because it would have taken too much time. Another man helped him out of the snake pit and into a hallway away from spectators. He stated that within about 15 minutes he passed out. He regained consciousness when he was being loaded into the ambulance for transport to Parkland Hospital in Dallas. Once there, the medical staff attempted to treat the bite, but it was too late and much of the leg tissue was already dead causing the necessity for amputation of his leg, according to Bibby.
“The people at Parkland were great. They tried to save my leg and my life, but thank goodness they were able to save my life,” said Bibby. “Getting bit is the danger of my job. But this was by far the worst bite I’ve ever had.” He explained that it was his 11th bite of his career.
Bibby stated that he felt that the bite and the loss of his leg were “probably a message not to stop, but to slow down.”
Bibby entertains with the rattlesnake shows but also works for Summer Sky, a treatment center in Stephenville as a certified outreach specialist. He travels and visits with people who can send referrals to the center as well as helps those needing help who cannot afford it to find funds to enter the treatment program. Bibby himself is a recovering alcoholic and drug addict, clean and sober for 24 years. He states that he loves his job and plans to continue doing what he has always done, both the shows and his job with the treatment center.
He is currently learning how to walk on crutches and use a wheelchair. He said the remaining part of his leg is in a pressure sock to shape the leg for a prosthesis. After this is complete, he will go to a temporary prosthesis and then a permanent one will be fashioned for him.
Bibby stated that he is doing well and looks forward to his future.
“I’m not done yet. By God’s grace I survived. I will go on. I’ll go forward and continue doing what I have always done,” said Bibby. “I’m just trying to do the next right thing.”
Bibby currently holds several world records, but the one he spoke of during the interview was of a timed sacking competition. This was the one that first got him interested in snake handling. He was 18-years-old, at a rattlesnake round up in Brownwood, and had to sack ten snakes the fastest, for which he won two trophies, $30 and got his name printed in the paper. “That got me hooked,” said Bibby, who then explained that before this accident, he held the world record for this event, sacking 10 snakes in 17.11 seconds.
Pictured at top is Bibby from last year’s Rattlesnake Roundup in Brownwood.
