When Snake Salvation pastor Jamie Coots of Kentucky died back in February thanks to a snake bite, his son, Cody Coots, was not deterred. He continued to preach with snakes and was just bit himself. Unlike his father though, he was not killed.
Coots, 21, was bit by a canebrake rattler during a service on Monday, notes TMZ, as he took the snake out of its cage. His wife, Brittany, told the site that his hand swelled, but he refused medical attention. The pain next away the next day and Brittany considers it an act of God that Coots’ life was saved.
According to WKYU, Coots preaches at his family’s Full Gospel Tabernacle in Jesus Name Church, which they found in Middlesboro, Kentucky. Although his father died in February, he has not plans to stop handling snakes, like his family before him.
“If I had to die at a young age just like he did, it was my time to go, I'll still carry on in the signs,” Coots told WKYU. “If I die from handling serpents it wouldn't bother me. At least I'd be in the good service before I leave this walk of life.”
Coots' father was featured in the NatGeo series Snake Slvation.