Heatherly Noble didn’t have time to think. She felt pain, then spotted a large snake rising out of the bush in front of her.

“In about two seconds I had to realize that one, you’ve been bitten by a snake, I don’t know what kind it is. Secondly, it’s there it’s not going away because it’s mad,” she said.

The Mooresville homeowner was trimming her hedges outside her front door when the snake bit her in the hand. Horrified by the sight of the creature rising up, Heatherly stepped back not realizing she was still on her ladder.

“Stepped back with my left leg and left the right on top of the ladder and did a little bit of damage,” Noble said.