I was wondering about the whole pulling out the barb thing too. Of course it all happened quickly and he probably didn't know it was in his heart, but I can't help but wonder if he might have had a slim chance of survival had he left it in. The serrated edges on those barbs cause severe damage when the barb is removed. But although the venom is not normally fatal to humans, everything I've read says that it does cause excruciating pain, and the trauma from that directly in his heart could have been enough to kill him whether he took out the barb or not. Plus, if you're in that much pain, I doubt you're thinking, "I better leave this in." I'm still really sad that he's gone.
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