If you’re an avid hiker or have spent time exploring grasslands and desert climates, you’ve probably come across warning signs for snakes among other dangerous prey. At the time, you may have thought nothing of it—you were in their territory after all. But snakes can also show up in your neck of the woods, and you'll want to be prepared for those close encounters. Just ask delivery driver and rattlesnake bite survivor Monet Robinson.
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In September, 21-year-old Amazon delivery driver Robinson was bitten by a rattlesnake while delivering packages along her normal route in Palm City, Florida. Robinson was rushed to Cleveland Clinic Martin North, where she was treated for a venomous wound located on the back of her upper thigh, per local NBC-affiliate WPTV.
It was later confirmed by the Martin County Sheriff's Office on Facebook that Robinson had been struck by a 5-foot-long Eastern diamondback rattlesnake.
"The driver walked to the door, put the package down and was struck by the snake in the back of the leg, just above the knee," the department wrote, adding that the snake was “coiled up near the front door.”
In a new interview with local NBC-affiliate WESH, Robinson, who has since made a full recovery, revealed that she spent three weeks in the hospital after going “into some type of shock.”
Initially, Robinson said she thought nothing of the bite, because “it was nothing too aggressive, just a little sting.” She admitted she thought a bee had stung her. Even when she realized it was a snake, she didn't panic.
"I was like, it's just a snake, it's just a bite. I'm going to go to the hospital; they'll give me a little injection, medication, that's it," she said. She even thought she would be back at work the next day.
However, things took a turn for the worse when Robinson began experiencing physical side effects from the bite. An ambulance arrived at the scene, and that’s when Robinson realized the amount of swelling happening to her face, lips, and eyes.
"I thought I was going to die," Robinson told WESH. "I could hardly breathe because my airway was like closing, my throat swelling from inside."
While Robinson is physically recovered, she said “mentally, it’s a lot.”
But Robinson's calm in the moment is likely what saved her. Robert Borrego, MD, the trauma medical director at St. Mary's Medical Center in West Palm Beach, previously explained to ABC-affiliate WPBF that not panicking is one of the most important steps in surviving a rattlesnake bite.
"The worst thing you can do is get excited or walk fast or run," he told WPBF. "Then, the blood circulates faster, and the venom gets distributed to your body faster."
