A young mother who had to be airlifted to hospital after a venomous snake sank its fangs into her has spoken of her terror as she struggled for breath before collapsing in shock.
Ellie Ward, aged 26, was out with her two children and siblings enjoying a bank holiday weekend walk at Avon dam, Dartmoor, on Sunday when she accidentally stepped on an adder causing it to strike at her.
Her brother Matthew Ward, a doctor, described how he heard his younger sister scream before she kicked-out in a flurry to free herself from its clutch.
In the mile-long walk back to where the family's cars were parked, the psychology university student began to struggle for breath and lose feeling in her tongue while her lips swelled.
The Higher Compton woman then collapsed in front of her seven-year-old son Maddox and four-year-old daughter Evie before she could get into a vehicle.
She described her horror as it dawned on her that she might collapse in front of her young son and daughter.
"The initial bite was a massive shock," she said.
"Obviously I hadn't seen the snake, so I assumed I'd just cut my foot on something.
"The last thing I expected was to see a snake hanging off my foot.
"Within a few minutes, I could feel a burning pain moving up my leg, presumably the venom getting in my system.
"My biggest fear was it getting to my chest. I had visions of collapsing in front of the kids, which terrified me.
"The last stretch of the walk back to the car was agony.
"I could feel my face swelling, and I could barely walk, breathe or see.
"My son Maddox held my hand and told me I'd be okay. He's a hero. I went into anaphylactic shock soon after."
Her brother Matthew, aged 33, managed to quickly take a photo of the adder before it had time to squirm off.
He explained how he became more and more worried about his sister as the family ensemble headed back to their vehicles.
Along with Ellie and her children, she was joined on the afternoon walk by Matthew, his wife Johanne, and sister Emily and her husband with their three step-children.
"By the time we got back to the car park, she was really unwell," said the throat surgeon who is based in Southampton.
"It got to the point where it was quite scary.
"I became worried when her voice started going husky and it was evident that she was finding it hard to breathe.
"Ellie was great throughout and tried to be reassuring to the kids saying, 'Mummy's fine, she just needs to go and sit down'.
"My other sister Emily brought Maddox and Evie over to her to go and look for ice creams and keep them distracted.
"It was obvious to me she needed urgent medical attention.
"It was frustrating because I knew what she needed but I didn't have the kit to do it."
After she collapsed Matthew attended to his sister while others desperately searched for phone signal to alert the emergency services.
When his wife Johanne finally found phone reception to call 999, an air ambulance was sent to the scene.
"She had excellent care. There was a nurse that helped out in the car park and the paramedics and doctors at the hospital were great," Matthew said.
"The nurses in A&E said they had seen a few cases but not a lot.
"The consultant had never given the anti-venom before.
"I had not seen a snake bite in 10 years as a doctor."
He added: "We had three or four people trying to find a signal to ring an ambulance. We rely on mobile phones so much but being somewhere as remote as that and not being able to reach reception, it was scary."
After being given the anti-venom Ellie was kept in overnight at hospital on Sunday but is expected to make a full recovery.
The mother-of-two expressed her thanks to those who had come to her aid.
"A lovely angel of a woman in the car park took care of me while my brother called for help. I'm fairly certain she saved my life," she added.
"Everyone was amazing. I'm so lucky to have made it, and it's really made me reflect on how my life has been panning out lately.
Ellie remained in hospital today, Monday.
"I think I needed this to realise how lucky I am."
