'I was bitten by snake while gardening - my skin went yellow and body spasmed'
A woman bitten by a rattlesnake in her garden has described the moment her skin 'went neon yellow' and her body 'spasmed'. Tracey Goodman, 55, spent two days in an intensive care unit after suffering a rare, severe reaction to the bite.
She had been weeding her garden at home in Alpine, California when suddenly felt a "sharp bite" in her leg - and realised that she had been attacked by snake. She called over her neighbours, who rang emergency services, and was rushed to hospital a short time later. But while on the ward, her condition became far more severe than would typically be expected for a rattlesnake bite, leaving doctors alarmed.
READ MORE: Dog left with horror open wound after being bitten by UK's only venomous snake on walk
Describing her unusual symptoms, Mrs Goodman told local news station WSAZ: "I noticed my arm and veins turning neon yellow. My mouth and tongue were swollen. My lips twitching, then my eyes and head started twitching. The doctors were shocked. They had never even seen videos of that."
Things took a sharp turn for the worse when her "entire body started to spasm" from head to toe, and medics were forced to quickly step up their treatment to bring her back to normal.
Tracey ended up spending two days in the intensive care unit, was given two doses of antivenom before being sent home on Sunday. She's now at home recovering, and says she has been left with some tissue damage causing "tingling" in her left foot.
It will take several days for the venom to be passed through her body.
Tracey believes she made a mistake by running around in circles in the panicked moments after the bite, as this can increase the rate venom spreads through your body.
She's now warning other gardeners in snake-risk areas to wear leather gloves "all the time", and use a stick to check the area first. The snake which bit her - thought to be a juvenile Southern Pacific rattlesnake - was never found.
An estimated 7,000 to 8,000 people are bitten by venomous snakes in the US every year. However, on average only 5 to 10 deaths are reported, as most snakes are not venomous.
Late last year, a woman from Texas described being bitten by a snake as she sat down on the toilet.
Maria Jaimes from Cedar Creek, had gone to the loo around 4.30am on December 15 when she "felt a little poke on my leg." The snake, which had been curled up under the toilet, seat sank its teeth into her leg - though thankfully it was not venomous.
She believed the snake slithered into her home through a vent in her roof, and has since asked her husband to cover the gap with chicken wire.
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They said it must've been growing for about 10 years. Luckily, it was benign. "She had surgery and it was like a complete transformation. We got 'old Angela' back, which really made us realise how much she'd actually changed. But she developed complications and had to go and have more severe surgery. While recovering, she developed myeloma and amyloidosis, two rare forms of blood cancer. "It was the most aggressive form they'd seen and she was given a terminal diagnosis. They said she could live a year, maybe longer, but she just wasn't responding to any of the treatment. We wanted Angela to be at home when she died, and she did too, so we moved her home from hospital. They thought she would only last a few days, but she lasted quite a few weeks. She was tough. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. "When Angela was really poorly, I was sat holding her hand for a while. I was listening to audiobooks - one was Wild and the other was called Coasting, about someone who ran around Britain. Angela and I's retirement plan was to buy a motorhome and drive round Britain, so the two things sort of merged together after Angela died. 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