Rachel Myrick was with her son, boyfriend and other family members when she was bit by a venomous snake outside of LongHorn Steakhouse restaurant
A Virginia woman faces three months of recovery time after she was dealt serious injuries from a snake bite outside of a LongHorn Steakhouse restaurant.
Rachel Myrick was entering the chain eatery located at 10012 Southpoint Pkwy in Fredericksburg with her son, boyfriend and other family members the evening of September 12 when she felt a sudden sting on her left foot.
Myrick, a realtor in the city, told local newspaper The Free Lance-Star she initially believed the painful tingle was caused by a bee.
‘I had my fingers under my foot and that’s when I felt something moving,’ Myrick explained of the incident.
When she looked down, Myrick found what her boyfriend described to be an 8-inch-long copperhead snake hooked on her sandal. In a panic, she shook it off.
She recalled: ‘I freaked out,’ and hollered out to her family, ‘I got bit! I got bit!’
The incident happened in Fredericksburg, Virginia at the 10012 Southpoint Pkwy location
Myrick, a realtor in the city, told The Free Lance-Star she initially believed the painful tingle from snake (pictured) was caused by a bee
When an emergency crew arrived to the scene, they confirmed the snake was the venomous copperhead
Myrick was bit twice on her toes and once on the side of her foot and suffered swelling on her feet, hip and left thigh
Her partner, Michael Clem, initially identified the snake as a copperhead and told the newspaper he worked around snakes and other reptiles for several years.
‘I’ve bred and raised reptiles for 15 years,’ Clem said. ‘There was no question what it was.’
When an emergency crew arrived to the scene, they confirmed the snake was the venomous copperhead.
According to livescience.com, copperhead venom is ‘relatively mild, and their bites are rarely fatal for humans.’
Myrick recalled to The Free Lance-Star: ‘I freaked out,’ and hollered out to her family, ‘I got bit! I got bit!’
A crying Myrick was transported that evening to the nearby Mary Washington Hospital
Myrick now walks on crutches and was told by doctors she had months of healing left
A crying Myrick was transported that evening to the nearby Mary Washington Hospital where she was treated for the poisonous bite.
She was bit twice on her toes and once on the side of her foot and suffered swelling on her feet, hip and left thigh.
During her treatment, Myrick was given ‘antivenin intravenously’ and ‘morphine for pain, (as well as) Benadryl for itching and an antinausea medication,’ according to The Free Lance-Star.
Doctors ordered her to stay off her feet for several months and use crutches for assistance.
‘It’s painful just to ride in the car. There’s very little that I can do. I can’t work. I can’t take my kids anywhere,’ Myrick said.
‘Even phone calls are very difficult because I’m medicated. I can chat, but I can’t negotiate a contract on someone’s behalf.
‘They say that your life can change in a moment … and they’re absolutely correct,’ Myrick added.
‘They say that your life can change in a moment, and they’re absolutely correct,’ Myrick told the local newspaper