SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — “It was sheer panic,” John Axford remembered. “Trying to figure out what was going on.”

The Rockies right-handed relief pitcher last week saw his family at Salt River Fields long enough for hugs and kisses after throwing a three-strikeout ninth inning to earn a Cactus League save against the Giants. They left him behind so he could finish his post-game workout.

But when he was done, as Axford drove away from Rockies headquarters, he got a message from a Phoenix-area hospital saying his 2-year-old son, Jameson, had been bitten by a rattlesnake twice in the right foot.

Axford, who hasn’t pitched for the team since Wednesday, was forced to leave spring training camp to be with his family.

“Things got very bad, very quickly,” Axford said. “It looked like a fairly normal snake bite. But things took a turn for the worse.

“There was a lot of pain. A lot of screaming.”

Axford returned to the Rockies’ clubhouse to pitch a bullpen session Tuesday while his son slept at the hospital with Axford’s wife, Nicole, and other son, J.B., 3.

But Axford said he is not sure when he’ll be able to return to the Rockies full-time. He’ll stay with Jameson and his family as long as needs.

“We can’t do anything, except give him hugs and kisses — and pancakes sometimes,” Axford said.

Jameson remains in the hospital in stable condition while doctors attempt to stop necrosis of his foot. Axford said doctors are still concerned his son may need one of his toes amputated, but he is in much better condition now. And they believe his foot was saved.

He was given six vials of antivenom medication when he arrived at the hospital. His parents think Jameson stepped on a baby rattlesnake in the backyard of the house the family is renting north of Scottsdale.

Nicole pulled her son away from the snake and called 911. The fire department arrived five minutes later, then an ambulance came to rush Jameson to the hospital where he was stabilized.

But his health turned worse. Swelling turned to blistering and the top of his foot became black in spots. Doctors worried necrosis might force them to amputate the foot. They had to scrub dead tissue off Jameson’s foot, a painful process, every morning until Tuesday, which was his first clear day.

“The last thing I want to do is think about baseball,” Axford said. “We’re not sure what is happening. We’re trying to take things step by step.”

The Rockies were looking to fill one or two remaining spots in their bullpen before opening day Monday. They could carry seven or eight relief pitchers. But they may now need one more arm to replace Axford in the short term. Brooks Brown, Rafael Betancourt and Scott Oberg are candidates for those spots.

Rockies manager Walt Weiss said Axford — whom the Rockies signed in the offseason to a one-year, $2.6 million deal with incentives — remains a possibility to still be on the opening day roster.

“We have some things mapped out for him. We feel good about him being out there.”

Axford, for now, is focused on his son.

“Any positive thoughts people have for him would definitely be well-received,” he said.

Nick Groke: ngroke@denverpost.com or twitter.com/nickgroke