I never thought in a million years it would happen to me: that I would require the services of my fellow EMT's or paramedics ... but it happened.

I'm in the hospital now, recovering.

I was taking a walk in the woods near my house when I felt something bite my leg, right near the ankle.  It really hurt!  I looked down in time to see the tail end of a snake slithering quickly into the bushes.  I knew I had been snakebit ... but by what kind of snake?  I wondered.  That was when I noticed the heavy smell of cucumbers.

Possible copperhead?  I surmised.  Whatever it was, it sure drilled me.  And I needed help as quickly as possible.

I punched 9-1-1 on my cell phone.  I told the guys at the station what had happened and that I was the one having the medical emergency.  They told me they'd send the rig in a few minutes; they would soon be there to help me in my time of need.

As I lay there on the ground, waiting for the paramedics, I wondered if I would end up dying before they even got to me.  I decided to lay as still as possible so I wouldn't drive the snake venom further up my body, thus, causing more problems for me.  All I could do was lie there on the ground and pray for God to come help me and pray that the ambulance would arrive as soon as possible, so I would at least have a fighting chance.

I never was so scared in all my life!

Just when I thought my guys would never come, I soon heard their shouts, to let me know that they were coming.  I started bawling like a child; I never was so relieved!

I was soon treated and placed on a rolling stretcher bed.  The paramedics/EMTs then wheeled me out to the ambulance, where they loaded me up and locked the doors.  Creston (the new guy on the team) started an IV and reassured me that all would be okay.  He raised the head of the bed and placed oxygen prongs into my nose, talking soothingly all the while.  I suddenly felt a little better, safer.  

It wasn't long before the ambulance was at the back doors, at the ambulance bay, where doctors and nurses soon received me.  They took me to the ER and started treating me.  By now, my leg was an angry, red color and it hurt worse than the world's worse toothache.  It was really sore!  Looked nasty too, I remembered thinking, before I mercifully passed out from the pain.

So that is my story.  I got bitten by a snake.  And it was a copperhead.  I am now getting antivenom (not to mention, heavy doses of antibiotics).  I will probably be here for several more days before I can continue my recovery at home.  The swelling in my leg has gone down a little, but it still hurts (though not nearly as much as it did).

If I learned anything from this experience, it is not to wear shorts in a heavily wooded area.  You never know what (or who) might be lurking in its shadows.  I will be wearing long pants (preferably jeans), socks, and my high top tennies (or hiking boots) next time I go walking in the woods behind my house.  

I consider myself to be extremely lucky.  People have died from getting bitten by snakes.  I'm just glad I had the presence of mind to call for help on my cell and that I was clear-headed enough to do it, even though on the inside, I was clearly falling apart.  I might be down, but it won't be long, and it won't be long before I am back at work, doing the thing I love most: saving lives.

I just never thought that I would be the one needing to be saved!  All of a sudden, that puts a whole new perspective on things! 

~Pat E. Moss, EMT, Nashville, Tennessee.