SPOTSYLVANIA COUNTY, Va. -- Wincing through the pain as she walks on crutches, Rachel Myrick's left foot is puffy, purple and bruised.
"It was black and purple like that all the way past my knee," Myrick said.
Myrick stood hobbled above the restaurant off I-95 just south of Fredericksburg on Friday night where a copperhead snake bit her foot three times.
Myrick went to LongHorn Steakhouse on Tuesday, September 12 for dinner with her family.
Rachel Myrick
"Steak not a snake, that was the plan," Myrick said.
As she walked toward a second set of doors inside the restaurant, she felt something sting her foot.
"Initially it felt like I was stung by a bee or a hornet or something," Myrick said
By the time she realized what bit her, the snake bit her two more times.
She said the pain felt excruciating.
"I reached down and grabbed my foot because of the amount of pain and under my fingers, and felt it wiggle," Myrick said.
Her boyfriend and 13-year-old son stomped on the snake and killed it.
"He's like that's a copperhead we need to call 911," Myrick said about her boyfriend.
Myrick spent the next five-and-a-half-days in the hospital receiving anti-venom, Benadryl, and anti-nausea medicines.
Her entire leg ended up bruised and swollen.
Rachel Myrick
"The nausea was horrible, the itching was uncontrollable," Myrick said.
She said most of her family ended up dinning at the restaurant while she went to the hospital with her boyfriend.
"I got snake, they got steak," Myrick said.
The recovery process will take three months, and at this point the very active single mom said she's just trying to stay positive, but it feels like her life was stolen from her.
"I'm doing nothing now. I literally went from 100 miles an hour controlled, in my planner, very type A, very scheduled to, I can't do anything, I can't stay awake to take a phone call with you," Myrick said.
A spokesperson for Longhorn Steakhouse sent CBS 6 the following statement about the incident:
“As soon as we were made aware of what happened, we immediately contacted 911 and assisted our guest. Our primary concern is for the wellbeing of Ms. Myrick and we want to provide any assistance we can. This was a highly unusual incident, and we are working with our facilities team to see how this may have occurred and we are taking steps to prevent it from happening again.”
