Virginia woman bitten by copperhead snake inside a LongHorn Steakhouse

Virginia woman Rachel Myrick, left, was bitten by a Copperhead snake while walking into a Longhorn Steakhouse to have dinner with her boyfriend Michael Clem, right, family and friends. Virginia woman Rachel Myrick, left, was bitten by a Copperhead snake while walking into a Longhorn Steakhouse to have dinner with her boyfriend Michael Clem, right, family and friends. Photo: Courtesy Of Rachel Myrick Photo: Courtesy Of Rachel Myrick Image 1 of / 59 Caption Close Virginia woman bitten by copperhead snake inside a LongHorn Steakhouse 1 / 59 Back to Gallery

A simple dinner with family and friends turned in a fiasco for Virginia woman, Rachel Myrick after she was bitten by a venomous snake.

Myrick told Chron.com that she was walking into a Fredericksburg, Va., Longhorn Steakhouse on Sept. 12 when she felt a sharp pain in her left foot.

She initially thought she'd been stung by a bee or wasp, but when she tried to walk the pain was too much.

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"When I wrapped my hands around my foot, I felt something wiggle underneath my fingers. I freaked out," Myrick told Chron.com. "I let go of my foot, shook my hands off, and realized then that it was a snake, and it was stuck to my foot still. I kicked my foot, while yelling to Mike and my son, that I had been bit."

Myrick's boyfriend Michael Clem — who according to Myrick used to breed and handle reptiles about 15 years ago — immediately leapt into action, called 9-1-1 and identified the culprit as an 8-inch-long Copperhead snake.

"I am thankful to have had someone there that knew what it was," Myrick said. "I don't know one snake from the next and wouldn't have known how urgent the need for help was, and how to handle the situation."

She was taken to a nearby hospital where her the swelling on her foot has to be marked each time it progressed in order to determine when it was safe to give Myrick the antivenin.

"The side effects of it are pretty severe, so poison control only advises the hospital to administer it if swelling gets to a certain point," said Myrick. "In my case, the bite was around 8 p.m., and at the hospital poison control stated if the swelling was past my ankle by 2 a.m., it would be indicated."

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Myrick told Chron.com that the swelling passed her ankle much earlier, so the antivenin was administered when scheduled. In the end, the effects of the bite reached up to her hip.

The process of administering the antivenin took about an hour and Myrick had to be monitored closely since the side effects of the medicine could send her into anaphylactic shock.

Myrick was in the hospital for five and a half days taking IV nausea medication, Benadryl and pain medications before she was finally released to go home on Sunday, Sept. 17.

While she is getting better and the recovery process is still a long road ahead, Myrick still keeps a positive attitude.

"They [doctors] assured me all will be well in the end, and that in three months or so I should be back on my feet and returning to a more normal life," said Myrick. "I am forever grateful for the love and support I am surrounded by. My boyfriend, children, parents, and friends have been amazing and I would be lost without them."

Take a look through the gallery above to see photos of Myrick's encounter with a Copperhead, and keep going to see tips on how to identify common snakes seen in Houston.