‘I don’t want to die like this’: Surfer bitten by a rattlesnake five times as he got out of the water

Matt Gmyr described swelling as ‘crazy’ after being bitten

Matt Gmyr talking to CBS8 San Diego in an interview (CBS8 San Diego)

A surfer from San Diego, California, has recalled his frightening encounter with a diamondback rattlesnake, which bit him five times.

Matt Gmyr, who was treated with antibiotics and survived the encounter last Thursday, told CBS8 News in an interview how he felt as if “someone dropped a knife on my foot” while getting out of the water at Torrey Pines Beach.

He said he had been surfing with friends before getting out of the water after sighting a shark when he came under attack from the diamondback.

“Like it was sharp pain and I look down and there’s a snake attached to my foot,” said Mr Gmyr, who remembered seeing a juvenile diamondback rattlesnake around one and a half feet in length.

“I was feeling the full body tingling, the lips, the face, the numbness, swelling, and it was crazy,” said Mr Gmyr.

“There’s a point when I was calling out to God saying, ‘Oh, I don’t want to die like this. Is this going to be how it’s going to end? After surfing and getting bitten by a rattlesnake?’”

He said lifeguards and paramedics immediately arrived at the scene and that he was rushed to a hospital in La Jolla, about seven miles south of Torrey Pines Beach.

A black diamondback rattlesnake (CBS8 San Diego)

Doctors treated Mr Gymr with antibiotics, and performed blood tests, it was reported. He was expected to be released later on Friday.

Rattlesnakes can grow up to two feet in length and are found across San Diego County, including in mountain areas and beaches, where Mr Gymr was stung.

San Diego’s wildlife department advises anybody stung by a rattlesnake to remain calm, and to wash the wound with soap and water while calling for help.