15-05-2025
'I was bitten by snake while gardening - my skin went yellow and body spasmed'
Tracey Goodman, 55, was weeding her garden when she suddenly felt a 'sharp bite' in her leg - it triggered a rare reaction that turned her skin 'neon yellow' and sent her body into spasm
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.
