- Sam West, 40, was bitten by a snub-nosed viper on April 3 at her hotel in Cyprus.
A British tourist was left in intensive care after being bitten by a venomous snake during a meditation session while on holiday in Cyprus to mark her 40th birthday.
Sam West, 40, from Shifnal, Shropshire, was bitten by a 5ft-long blunt-nosed viper on April 3 as she prepared to begin a meditation session at the Atlantica Aphrodite Hills Hotel.
“Quickly, before I had time to react, he bit me right above my left ankle,” she told the newspaper. bbc.
“I started shaking off the snake while screaming that I had just been bitten by a snake.”
“My leg was burning and throbbing, the pain was instantaneous,” he added. The hotel staff quickly came to her aid and took her to the emergency room, where she was told that she urgently needed an antidote.
Sam West (pictured), 40, from Shifnal, Shropshire, was bitten by a 1.5m long blunt-nosed viper on April 3 as she prepared to start a meditation session at the Atlantica Aphrodite Hotel Hills.
Since then, he has relied on a wheelchair to get around after pictures showed his leg was severely bruised and swollen from the snakebite.
West, 40, was staying at the Atlantica Aphrodite Hills hotel in Cyprus when she was bitten.
West, who is on holiday in Cyprus with his wife, had to spend four days in intensive care and another in another ward.
She was finally discharged to the hotel with medication last Monday.
Since then, she has relied on a wheelchair to get around after pictures showed her leg severely bruised and swollen due to the snakebite.
Mrs West now pays £260 a night for a disabled access room.
He is currently waiting for an update from his insurance company on when he would be able to fly back to the UK after being unable to fly until today.
West said the hotel had narrowed the area around the meditation platform where she was bitten and has repeatedly called pest control.
‘Quickly, before I had time to react, he bit me just above my left ankle. “I started shaking the snake off while she screamed that she had just been bitten by a snake,” she told the BBC.
Mrs West, who is on holiday in Cyprus with her wife, had to spend four days in intensive care and another in another ward before she was finally discharged to the hotel with medication last Monday.
Furthermore, the meditation sessions have since been moved to the hotel’s dance studio.
He has reportedly received more than 350 messages since the incident and received support from TUI staff.
Employees also rushed to her side to help her when she was bitten, West said.
TUI UK & Ireland told the BBC it was “aware” Ms West was bitten by a snake at the hotel, adding that guest safety was the company’s “top priority”.