Megan Templeton went to the Barboursville Wal-Mart on Nichols Drive about 4 p.m. Sunday with her father and younger sister to get some hamburgers and watermelon for their Memorial Day weekend cookout.
While in the produce section perusing the boxes of seedless watermelons, Megan felt a sharp pain, her father, William Templeton, said today.
The Milton Middle School student jerked her hand out of the produce box to find a stinger in her finger and a tan, 1-inch-long creature still attached, William said.
The girl turned to her father and said something he at first didn't believe.
"She said a scorpion stung her on the finger," William, 36, said. "I didn't believe her at first, but then I saw it run underneath (the box)."
William said he immediately called his wife, Paula, who is a paramedic, and told her what had happened.
Paula drove to the store, picked up Megan and rushed her to nearby Cabell-Huntington Hospital.
William said before his wife had even arrived, Wal-Mart employees were on the scene and helped scoop up the exotic arachnid so it could be taken to the hospital for identification purposes.
William said he also peeled a sticker off a watermelon showing the shipment was from Mexico, which he hoped could help hospital workers treat his daughter.
Megan wound up being fine, William said.
But the family was nervous for a little while.
Even though Paula is a paramedic, she had never seen anyone with a scorpion sting, William said.
She would soon realize she was not alone.
When Megan arrived at Cabell-Huntington Hospital, the doctors and nurses were dumbfounded, William said.
"They had to look it up on the Internet because it is so unusual in the area," he said. "Everybody came down to look at it."
A 12-year-old Barboursville girl was taken to the hospital after being stung by a scorpion while shopping at Wal-Mart.
Megan Templeton went to the Barboursville Wal-Mart on Nichols Drive about 4 p.m. Sunday with her father and younger sister to get some hamburgers and watermelon for their Memorial Day weekend cookout.
While in the produce section perusing the boxes of seedless watermelons, Megan felt a sharp pain, her father, William Templeton, said today.
The Milton Middle School student jerked her hand out of the produce box to find a stinger in her finger and a tan, 1-inch-long creature still attached, William said.
The girl turned to her father and said something he at first didn't believe.
"She said a scorpion stung her on the finger," William, 36, said. "I didn't believe her at first, but then I saw it run underneath (the box)."
William said he immediately called his wife, Paula, who is a paramedic, and told her what had happened.
Paula drove to the store, picked up Megan and rushed her to nearby Cabell-Huntington Hospital.
William said before his wife had even arrived, Wal-Mart employees were on the scene and helped scoop up the exotic arachnid so it could be taken to the hospital for identification purposes.
William said he also peeled a sticker off a watermelon showing the shipment was from Mexico, which he hoped could help hospital workers treat his daughter.
Megan wound up being fine, William said.
But the family was nervous for a little while.
Even though Paula is a paramedic, she had never seen anyone with a scorpion sting, William said.
She would soon realize she was not alone.
When Megan arrived at Cabell-Huntington Hospital, the doctors and nurses were dumbfounded, William said.
"They had to look it up on the Internet because it is so unusual in the area," he said. "Everybody came down to look at it."
Megan was kept at the hospital under evaluation for a few hours and was released later without any major side effects, her father said.
"It looked bad, but she said it was just a little worse than a bee sting," he said. "She was fine by the time we left (the hospital)."
Of the nearly 2,000 varieties of scorpions, only a couple dozen are known to be harmful to humans. Some people, however, are allergic to the venom of others.
The store manager at the Barboursville Wal-Mart referred all questions this morning to corporate headquarters.
Richard Coyle, senior director of international affairs for Wal-Mart, said today the manager had made contact with Templeton's family to ensure the girl was alright.
"We are very concerned," Coyle said. "This is a very rare incident. When I spoke to the store manager, she said in her 17 years (with Wal-Mart) she had never heard of something like this."
Coyle said the store has taken safety precautions since the incident.
"We will be checking all that produce to make sure there are no other scorpions," Coyle said. "We don't want this issue to repeat itself. Because it is such a rare occurrence, I think we will focus on this particular shipment."
Coyle said there are no plans now to change the inspection process for all produce company-wide.
"It's just such a freak event," he said.
Coyle confirmed the shipment of seedless watermelons was from Mexico.
The Templeton family still has possession of the scorpion. No one at the hospital was able to identify its exact species, but the family hopes to find someone who can, William said.
As for the family's plans for a Sunday evening cookout, they were postponed until today.
William said Megan and the rest of the family are looking on the bright side of the incident.
"I told her it would be a good story," he said.
[Via Charleston Daily Mail]
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