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(Illustration by: Jacob Thomas)

(Photo by: Telmo Keim/Age Fotostock)
The Victim: Lorraine Jonsson, 50,Ā of Los Angeles, CA, was bit on April 23, 2010.
Forget a rattlerās early-warning system: By the time I heard the snake shaking its tail, the three-foot serpent had already sunk its fangs into my ankle.Ā Twice. Within seconds, I started feeling the effects: blurred vision, jelly-like legs, and a horrifying sense of panic.
It was four oāclock on a sunny spring Friday in Franklin Canyon Park, a 605-acre greenspace tucked between Los Angeles and the Santa Monica Mountains,Ā and I had just started my favorite post-work hike. I was charging toward the canyonās ridge when, a hundred feet into the trail, the camouflaged viper struck.Ā I must have stepped right on it. When I saw it coiled under some brush a foot off the path, it was rattling like an out-of-control sprinkler, and only a secondĀ had passed since I felt it strike my inner ankle.
I never expected to run into a snake in this urban-boundary park, in terrain I hike several times a week. I wasnāt alert to a possible encounter and I wasĀ underdressed for viper-country hiking (not wearing clothing like pants or boots that could have deflected a bite). The 80ā day presented ideal baskingĀ weather and was fading into eveningāwhen snakes and their prey are typically most active. Also, the reptilesā hunger and mating hormones peak in spring,Ā making them aggressive hunters with hair-trigger defenses.
After the bite, my small (5ā4ā, 100 pounds) body immediately started reacting to the toxins coursing through it. My system was pumped full of adrenaline,Ā so I wasnāt initially in pain, but I was frantic with fear. The near-lethal doses of venom worked quickly, beginning to incapacitate me within minutes.Ā Like most rattler bites, mine delivered a blood-thinning, tissue-bursting hemotoxin through twin puncture wounds. The vast majority of victims will surviveĀ this type of envenomation, albeit uncomfortably. Bruises and blisters start forming around the bite site within a half hour, the venomās digestive actionĀ starts melting tissue near the wound within six hours, and a victim might suffer aches and nausea for days.
My case, though, was more intense. The snake that bit me injected that standard-issue hemotoxin along with a rare and more powerful neurotoxin that quicklyĀ interfered with my brainās signals to my respiratory system. There are only a few North American species that could deliver such a dangerous biteāeitherĀ a Southern Pacific or a Mojave Green rattlesnakeābut Iād stumbled over one of them in my own backyard. I didnāt know it at the time, but I had to getĀ help fast if I was going to survive.
I hadnāt told anyone where Iād be hiking, and even though I was on the border of a major city, the canyonās 200-foot hills block most cell signals.Ā I stumbled the short distance to the pavement and fell to the ground, yelling for help and fighting to stay conscious as my muscles trembled withĀ spasms. Luckily, a car appeared within a few minutes. The passing couple pulled me into their backseat and drove through the park until we found aĀ ranger who called an ambulance.
Meanwhile, my entire body continued shutting down; the paramedics didnāt even realize what a severe bite Iād received until they had to resuscitateĀ me en route to the emergency room. Iād stopped breathing as my lungs succumbed to the toxins attacking them. Thankfully, the hospital was only six miles away. Within an hour of my bite, doctors administered the first of 116 vials of antivenin that would ultimately save my life.
Over the next three weeks, I stayed in the ICU, tortured by the snake-like hissing sound of the respirator and recovering from massive swellingĀ and organ failure caused by the venom double-whammy. If it hadnāt been for my proximity to the hospital and my healthy heartāthanks in part toĀ those regular canyon hikesāI wouldnāt have made it.
Key Skill:Ā Donāt surprise a snake.
Stay alert, especially on overgrown trails where vipers may wait for passing prey, and when cool temps lure snakes into open areas to bask. Step onĀ top of logs and rocks instead of over; a rattler might strike defensively if itās hiding underneath and you surprise it.
Never Forget: Itās not out to get you.
If a snake is in motion, get out of its way. If itās coiled, give it a wide berth (at least 10 feet) and go around it. Snakes can only extendĀ up to 40 percent of their body length during a strike, but you canāt jump out of the way; from start to finish, the motion takes less thanĀ half a second.
Snakebite First Aid
1. Remove jewelry or clothing that may restrict circulation near the bite because of swelling. Struck in the foot or leg?Ā Donāt remove your shoe. You may not be able to put it back on to hike out.
2. Wash the wound. Thatās all. Donāt do anything else to the bite site.
3. Keep the wound at heart level. (For lower limbs, itās OK to walk.)
4. Evacuate. Get to a hospital ASAP. Pain and swelling may be severe, and within six hours the flesh around the wound may start to die.