NBC News correspondent Emilie Ikeda has opened up about how her wedding almost derailed after her husband was bitten by a venomous snake the night of their rehearsal dinner.
Describing the frightening incident in an essay published by Today on Tuesday, the 28-year-old said she and then-fiancé Pat spent 12 hours at LeConte Medical Center in Sevierville, Tennessee after his unfortunate encounter with a copperhead.
Emilie explained the incident happened as they were exiting a rental home on a peak in the Smoky Mountains. They had planned to spend the night in separate cabins and were on their way to their car when he was bitten.
NBC News correspondent Emilie Ikeda recounted how her husband Pat was bitten by a venomous snake the night before their wedding in Tennessee
The journalist explained in her essay for Today that she and Pat were leaving a rental house in the Smoky Mountains when a snake bit his ankle
“As I was walking down a dimly lit path, I suddenly saw Pat jump up and grab his ankle,” she recalled. “He assumed it was a very angry hornet. I followed him a few steps and knew it was worse. A snake slithered away.’
The journalist said the snake managed to bite him “right above his leather shoe and under his pant leg” and said they were “impressed with their precision”.
Her family assured them that it probably wasn’t a venomous snake, but they didn’t want to take any chances. Emilie asked Pat to track down the snake and take a picture of it.
They quickly identified it as a copperhead thanks to its triangular head.
They realized the snake was a copperhead after tracking it down and taking a picture. Copperhead snakes are venomous, but their bites are rarely fatal
After Pat’s ankle went numb, they marked the initial swelling with a pen and went to the emergency room together
The couple spent 12 hours at LeConte Medical Center in Sevierville after Pat’s unfortunate collision with a copper head
Emilie said she couldn’t believe her outdoor partner was bitten by a venomous snake while walking to her car the night before her wedding.
After Pat’s ankle went numb, they marked the initial swelling with a pen and went to the emergency room together.
“Since we’re on the edge of Smoky Mountains National Park, we figured snake bites were very familiar to medical professionals. No,” she said.
Emilie recalled one nurse saying she hadn’t treated a snakebite in about six years, while another asked, “Aren’t copperhead bites usually fatal?”
Emilie couldn’t believe her outdoor partner was bitten by a venomous snake on the way to her car
Emilie said the stress she had over seating plans and flowers in the months leading up to her wedding disappeared and they spent the night laughing and talking in the hospital
Luckily, they already knew that wasn’t the case and didn’t panic.
Copperhead snakes have relatively mild venom and their bites are rarely fatal to humans, according to Live Science.
Emilie said they were initially able to find the humor in the situation because Pat’s symptoms and swelling were minor.
“Despite having an ankle and calf the size of a grapefruit, Pat’s prognosis was good,” she explained. “He needed rest and thankfully no antidote, which was a relief after Google results for ‘the cost of treating a snakebite’ suggested a six-figure hospital bill.”
Pat was released the next morning and was able to ” hobble down the aisle ” at their wedding.
Emilie thanked the snake at the end of her essay and said it helped reminding them that the most important thing on their wedding day was each other
It was just before midnight when the doctor informed them that Pat would need to be monitored in the hospital for 12 hours, which would barely give him time to come to their ceremony.
Emilie said there was no TV or magazines in the hospital room and she had to push two chairs together to make a makeshift bed, but they still managed to make the best of a bad situation.
The stress she felt over seating plans and flowers in the months leading up to her wedding melted away and they spent the night laughing and talking.
Pat was discharged the next morning and was able to hobble down the aisle on his swollen foot, and while it wasn’t an ideal situation, it brought them closer.
“So thank you to the snake,” she concluded her essay. “Thank you for reminding us of the most important thing on one of the most important days: each other.”