‘I’m a Little Concerned by the Color’: Woman Has a Premonition That Something Terrible Is Going To Happen on Her Hike. Then That Exact Thing Happens

An Australian woman’s video series documenting herself getting bitten by a snake has made her viewers wonder what her breathing techniques are.

While trail running in the Valbonë area in Albania, TikToker Amy (@_lecons) unfortunately crossed paths with a European nose-horned viper. She filmed her whole ordeal from the moment she spotted the snake until she was ready to be picked up from the hospital.

How Did This Snake Bite Happen?

The video starts with Amy filming the snake as it slithers away.

“F—, f—, f—,” she says, before switching into a sing-song voice. “Anyone see that?”

Then, she sits down and explains what happened.

“I was bitten by a snake,” Amy says. The time stamp in the video says 10:53am.

“The whole time I was coming down I was like, ‘Would be a shame if I stepped on a snake and got bitten,’” she explains. “And what happened? Exactly that.”

By 11:07am, Amy says she had been stuck there for nearly 50 minutes.

“I’m a little concerned by the color of my foot,” she says.

Amy says she had been in touch with the guest house and that they could hear her calling for help. However, the ambulance could not find her yet.

At one point, she thinks she can hear people nearby.

“I can kind of hear people,” she says, before yelling, “Help!”

Then, somehow still sounding calmer than most people do when their DoorDash is late, Amy asks the camera if viewers want to see her foot. It is visibly discolored.

Eventually, help arrives. A team treats her immediately and then transports her using a makeshift gurney.

“Piggy backs through the Albanian Alps,” Amy says while a man carries her.

Then, while she is in the emergency vehicle, the situation seems to catch up with her.

“I feel so ill,” she says. “I don’t know if it’s the driving or the snakebite that happened.”

The EMT riding with her appears to be solving a Rubik’s Cube.

“We’re just doing Rubik’s Cubes. Keep calm,” Amy says.

She Eventually Received Antivenom

Once she got to the hospital, Amy says she did not fully understand what was happening around her.

“I received antivenom sometime after the two-hour mark, but I wasn’t aware of what was happening around me at the time and wasn’t informed until much later on,” she wrote in the video’s text overlay.

By 2:27pm, Amy says there were a lot of Albanian people around her speaking Albanian, and she had “no idea” what was going on most of the time until they spoke to her through a translation app.

“I think they keep saying if I move, my whole leg will go blue,” she says. “And they made the motion of cutting it off. Thankfully, that did not happen.

Eventually, Amy says she is finally being taken back to the guest house to continue recovering there.

“I am about to be taken back to the guest house,” she says. “Finally, I can do the rest of my recovery from there.”

Amy Shared More Details About The Snake Bite

In the caption, Amy explains that the snakebite happened on Sunday, June 21, at 10:19am while trail running near Valbonë.

“I’ve been living in New Zealand the last 3.5 years so my knowledge of snakebite first aid in the moment was slightly hazy,” she writes.

She says she immediately filmed the snake for identification purposes, sat down on the trail, and dialed 112 because that was the only line she could call with her eSIM.

After the operator hung up on her, Amy says she called her dad in Australia. He asked for her What3Words location so he could give it to Australian emergency services for Interpol.

For context, What3Words is a detailed navigation app that works on all of the Earth’s surfaces.

Amy then called a hostel owner in Shkodër, a city in Albania, who helped connect her with local emergency authorities on WhatsApp.

“Thank goodness for cell service,” Amy writes.

The authorities got her location and dispatched an ambulance. In the meantime, Amy says she initially used her socks and singlet to make a tourniquet higher up on the limb. Then she realized that was not the right move and removed it, using compression around the bite area instead.

“I had been informed to stay immobilized, despite being on a section of a trail that would be tricky to reach,” she writes.

In a follow-up video, Amy says she is expected to make a full recovery. In the background, you can see the gorgeous mountain views.

“I’m spending the rest of my time recovering in Valbona,” she says.

She also brings up how important it is to be safe while hiking and shares snakebite guidelines in the comments section.

How Dangerous Are European Nose-Horned Viper Bites?

The European nose-horned viper, or Vipera ammodytes, is considered one of Europe’s most dangerous venomous snakes. Its bite can be serious and potentially life-threatening, but it is usually survivable with quick medical care and antivenom.

Symptoms of viper envenomation can include intense pain, swelling, bruising or discoloration around the bite, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, abnormal bleeding or clotting issues, low blood pressure, shock, and, in some cases, neurological symptoms.

The snake’s range includes Albania, along with parts of Italy, Austria, the Balkans, Turkey, Georgia, and Armenia.

Commenters Were In Awe Of Her Calmness

In the comments, viewers were stunned by how Amy handled the situation.

“What level of not panicking is this ???” one commenter wrote.

“Anxiety is scared of you ma’am,” another said.

One person pointed out how fortunate the outcome was.

“You are so lucky to be in a country where the system works,” they wrote.

Others praised the people who helped rescue her.

“Looked like incredible team of people though—they were hustling!” one commenter said.

@_lecons On Sunday 21 June at 10:19 I was trail running near Valbonë in Albania when I was bitten by a European Nose-horned Viper. Here is a summarised snapshot of the events that followed with time stamps. I’ve been living in New Zealand the last 3.5 years so my knowledge of snakebite first aid in the moment was slightly hazy. I instantly filmed the snake for identification purposes, sat down on the trail and dialled 112 as this was the only line that I was able to call with my eSIM. Having no success with the operator and after they hung up on me, I called my dad in Australia who asked for my What3Words to give to Australian emergency services for Interpol. I then called a hostel owner in Shkodër who was able to assist by putting me in contact with local emergency authorities on WhatsApp (thank goodness for cell service) who gained my current location and dispatched an ambulance. In the meantime, I initially removed my socks and singlet to create a makeshift tourniquet higher up on the limb but realised this was incorrect action and later removed this to provide compression around the area of the bite. I had been informed to stay immobilised, despite being on a section of a trail that would be tricky to reach. Without cell service, this could have been a completely different outcome. Please travel with an inReach or PLB if you intend to be entering areas without internet coverage. Also download an emergency locator app like What3Words and always carry an appropriate first aid kit. #snakebite #albania #valbonë #trailrunning #solobackpacking ♬ original sound – Amy

The Mary Sue has reached out to Amy via TikTok messages for comment.

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