Terrifying moment influencer livestreams himself being bitten by snake and admitted to ICU
Topics: Florida, Health, Social Media, US News, Animals
Callum Jones
Featured Image Credit: YouTube/davidorin1
Topics: Florida, Health, Social Media, US News, Animals
The terrifying moment an influencer live-streamed himself being bitten by a highly poisonous snake has gone viral.
Social media influencer David Humplett boasts millions of followers on the likes of Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. And on December 18, many of his fans watched on in horror as he was bitten by a diamondback rattlesnake in Florida, before making a quick trip to ICU as his life hanged in the balance.
Humplett was on the lookout for snakes as he ventured around Shired Island in Dixie County.
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But it was an Eastern diamondback rattlesnake that came across the social media influencer, and launched a vicious attack on him.
Moments after the poisonous snake sunk its fangs into his leg, Humplett said: "Welp, I’m cooked. Alright, that right there is a fantastic Eastern diamondback Rattlesnake that I just got bit in the leg by when I was peeling bark."
WCJB reports the influencer was peeling bark around a tree to help find another type of snake when he frightened the snake.
“And then I just felt, out of nowhere, this intense pain, right in my leg. Honestly, it felt like an alligator,” Humphlett said, as per WCJB.
Humplett was rushed to hospital after the incident as he feared for his life.
"My reaction was just like dang it, this is really bad," he recalled. "I might lose my leg. It was petty scary because my whole body went numb head to toe."
Humplett was given 88 vials of anti-venom as the bite left his leg swelling to ungodly sizes, and he remains in the hospital's intensive care unit as we enter the new year.
Emma Rynear, Humphlett’s wife, has also been speaking to the press following her partner's terrible ordeal.
"Internally, I’m panicking but externally, I’m reassuring him, 'You’re going to be fine',” she told WCJB. "My team here at work helped me run down to the emergency room to be right there as the helicopter landed."
Humplett continued: "That’s just the God we serve. He turns things that seem crappy and makes them really beautiful."
Humplett will no doubt he counting his lucky stars following the incident, especially because he described the rattlesnake as 'the worst snake you can be bit by in Florida'.
His leg, which remains purple, felt like it was going to explode, the social media star added. He has also set up a 'recovery fund' on GoFundMe to go towards medical bills and help for his family.
Eastern diamondback rattlesnakes are North America's longest and heaviest venomous snake, and can average lengths of three-six feet long, as per Smithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute. Their bites can be fatal to humans, so it's safe to say Humplett had one hell of a lucky escape.