A short walk from a garage to a front door turned into an ICU stay for Tyler, Texas, business owner Patrick O'Brien after a copperhead struck his bare foot at night.
For O'Brien, owner of Project Lean Nation, the danger was somewhere you'd least expect it: on a cement pathway outside his own home.
Here's what to know
At first, O'Brien believed he had been stung by a scorpion, he told local station KLTV.
"I was simply walking into the house, and I couldn't see anything. And all of a sudden, I just had this incredible pain in the side of my foot," he said.
Using his phone for light, he caught sight of the snake and then noticed two fang marks on his foot.
"When you see the two fang marks on the side of your foot, all you're thinking is, I need to get treatment now," O'Brien told KLTV.
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At the hospital, staff monitored the bite, marking his foot to track swelling and bruising. He was started on an IV and had blood drawn.
He told KLTV the snake's green tail showed him it was a juvenile copperhead. Doctors later determined he needed antivenom, and he was then moved to the ICU.
"I would say getting stung by 10 red wasps at once or yellow jackets with a burning sensation," he said in describing the pain. "And it's just constant."
More background
Having grown up around the reptiles in East Texas, O'Brien said he recognized the snake as a copperhead almost immediately.
What can be done?
Treatment included antivenom, repeated blood work, and checks on swelling to measure the venom's effects.
O'Brien said staying calm can help if you are bitten.
"You want to keep your blood pressure down because that venom is spreading. You're just helping it out by getting your blood pressure up," he told KLTV.
UT Health East Texas advised people to stay calm, avoid handling the snake, keep the bite below or at the same level as your heart, wash the wound and apply a clean bandage, and to quickly get medical attention. The organization said to not use a tourniquet or suck out venom.
Where can I learn more?
Snakebites can turn dangerous quickly, whether they happen at home or in the wild. Here are a few more stories about copperhead and other venomous snake encounters.
• In Kansas, a copperhead bite at El Dorado State Park stunned EMS responders.
• In Kentucky, rescuers found a hiker after a copperhead bit his ankle deep on the trail.
• In Idaho, two rattlesnake bites sent one man to the ICU for antivenom treatment.
• In Florida's Big Cypress National Preserve, a snakebite sent one person to the hospital.
• On a porch, a homeowner was bitten after moving a large snake to protect neighbors.
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