Freak Snake Attack Leaves Florida Woman Having to Learn to Walk Again
A Florida woman will have to learn to walk again after she was bitten by a venomous snake while on a hike.
Seirra Lynn was taking photos of monarch butterflies on a hike in Myakkahatchee Creek Park in North Port on May 19 when the snake bit her on the leg, WBBH reported.
According to the station, Lynn believes it was an Eastern diamond-backed rattlesnake that bit her.
The snakes are venomous and found throughout Florida, according to the Florida Museum of National History. Anyone bitten should seek immediate medical care.
Lynn was airlifted to Sarasota Memorial Hospital in critical condition. Her family feared she would not survive.
"I'll never forget after they grabbed the whole family and told us all to come in, basically to come see her kinda in a way where you know it was to come say our goodbyes," Lynn's boyfriend, Derrick Hunter, told WBBH.
Lynn did survive and celebrated her 21st birthday in the hospital last week.
"She's a warrior, and she fought through," Hunter said.
Her family set up a GoFundMe page last week to help raise money to pay medical bills.
"Just days before my beautiful little sister is to celebrate her 21st birthday, she unexpectedly found that one of the things that she loved to do, that brought her great peace and joy would drastically change her life forever," her sister, Brittany Pedersen, wrote on the page, which has collected more than $14,000 in donations.
In an update posted on the page on Monday, Lynn thanked those who have donated as well as those who prayed for her recovery.
"There will never be enough words to express my gratitude," she wrote. "Each and everyone of you have made an impact on my life, without even knowing it. The love and support i have received in this time is astounding."
Lynn also thanked her team of doctors. They have been "absolutely incredible and quite literally saved my life," she wrote.
Lynn added that although she is out of the intensive care unit, she still has a long road to recovery.
"They have put a Wound vac on my leg, and through these next couple of weeks I will have some reconstructive surgeries, and with due time rehabilitation to learn how to walk again," she wrote.
"This is going to be a very long road of recovery but I am so extremely thankful to be here today to write this and to give an update."
Lynn also thanked people for their support in a Facebook post and urged people to be cautious on Florida trails.
"PLEASE PAY ATTENTION," she wrote.
Newsweek has contacted Lynn and her family for comment through social media.
