{"id":191638,"date":"2026-03-14T17:05:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-14T17:05:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/191638\/"},"modified":"2026-03-14T17:05:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-14T17:05:09","slug":"honeymoon-cottonmouth-bite-leaves-florida-man-with-life-threatening-lung-disease","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/191638\/","title":{"rendered":"Honeymoon cottonmouth bite leaves Florida man with life-threatening lung disease"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>SARASOTA, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 A honeymoon snake bite turned a Florida man\u2019s life into a fight for survival, leaving him with a deadly lung disease and in need of a double transplant.<\/p>\n<p>David and Sharyn Linton&#8217;s love story started with sunset walks and kayaking trips, culminating in a beachfront wedding at Reddington Beach, where they exchanged vows.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMeeting her felt like it was written in the stars,\u201d David told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mysuncoast.com\/2026\/03\/11\/suncoast-couple-seeks-help-after-snake-bite-leads-stage-4-lung-disease-need-double-lung-transplant\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">WWSB<\/a>. Sharyn added that saying \u201cI do\u201d at sunset was the perfect start to their life together.<\/p>\n<p>But during their honeymoon in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.discovercrystalriverfl.com\/cities\/floral-city\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Floral City<\/a> in 2024, tragedy struck.<\/p>\n<p>See also: <a href=\"https:\/\/cbs12.com\/news\/local\/cap-out-of-state-enrollment-at-floridas-top-universities-senate-non-resident-enrollment-florida-news\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Cap out-of-state enrollment at Florida\u2019s top universities? Senate says no<\/a><\/p>\n<p>David was bitten by a cottonmouth snake, a venomous species known to cause serious complications. Sharyn remembers the terrifying moment vividly, describing how David jumped in pain after the bite.<\/p>\n<p>The snake bite set off a chain of medical complications, eventually leading to a diagnosis of stage four pulmonary fibrosis, a severe lung disease that has left David dependent on a breathing machine around the clock. He now faces the possibility of needing a double lung transplant to survive.<\/p>\n<p>The couple says their insurance will not cover the cost of the procedure, leaving them searching for financial support. \u201cWe\u2019re reaching out for help because my husband has always been a hardworking provider, and now he needs life-saving care,\u201d Sharyn said.<\/p>\n<p>Experts say that while snake bites are not uncommon in the U.S., cottonmouth bites are relatively rare. <\/p>\n<p>Joseph Finley, a nurse practitioner and licensed venomous snake keeper, explained that only a small percentage of the 6,000 to 7,000 snake bites each year involve cottonmouths. He added that the venom can cause long-term damage to organs as the body reacts to muscle tissue breakdown and blood clot formation.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the grim prognosis, David and Sharyn remain determined to fight and are raising money to help pay for the risky surgery.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SARASOTA, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 A honeymoon snake bite turned a Florida man\u2019s life into a fight for survival,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":191639,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28,30,29],"class_list":["post-191638","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191638","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=191638"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191638\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/191639"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=191638"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=191638"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=191638"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}