Donna Lowery spends most of her days at The Mortgage Firm in Trussville, helping clients secure loans for their dream homes. Even after she leaves work, she stays connected and keeps pounding the pavement. However, she quickly learned just three weeks ago that one step can change everything.
It was 9 p.m. on April 27 when Lowery realized that during the hustle and bustle earlier in the day, she had hurried inside and forgotten something in her car. It was another “manic Monday,” and Lowery headed outside to retrieve her things. But as she opened the door and took one step outside, she was stopped in her tracks by excruciating pain.
“As soon as I walked out, I literally must have put my foot in his mouth, because the first step, he bit me,” Lowery told 1819 News. “I just jerked my foot up and started running to my neighbor's house.”
Lowery said she never saw the snake but knew exactly what it was because of the burning pain and immediate swelling. She said the spot on the top of her foot began to turn blue.
She was transported to UAB Hospital for an overnight stay and four vials of anti-venom. The hospital also offered a snake bite specialist to help Lowery recover. Nearly three weeks after the snake bite, Lowery is dealing with the physical and mental pain that comes with a venomous snake bite.
SEE ALSO: Alabama Snake Guide: Identifying venomous snakes and what to do if you see them
“The PTSD is so real,” she said. “Like, even getting in my car, I think, ‘Is there a snake in my car?’ I'm so hyper-conscious of snakes. I've lived here 20 years and have never seen one or even signs of them. But now I'm very scared.”
Through it all, Lowery hasn’t missed a beat at work. Even while hospitalized, she took phone calls and worked from her hospital bed.
“I was taking care of loans and taking care of my customers,” Lowery remembered. “My work never stopped, even the week I had to stay at home in the bed with my leg elevated, I had my laptop right here with me. I haven't missed work at all.”
There are only six species of venomous snakes in the state. Those are the copperhead, cottonmouth, timber rattlesnake, pygmy rattlesnake, Eastern diamondback rattlesnake and coral snake.
Just last week, a woman in Chelsea was bitten by a rattlesnake. Experts say most hospitals have anti-venom.
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