Judy Reed was doing laundry in the basement of her Mount Penn home last week when a copperhead sprang from the foundation wall and sunk its fangs into her.
She said the bite felt like an electric shock and a burning sensation quickly coursed through her arm.
Reed called 911 and asked the operator what to do.
"' Should I suck the venom out? Cut myself and suck it out?' And the 911 operator said 'Don't touch it, don't wipe it,'" she said.
Reed was given anti-venom but had to stay in the hospital for a few days because of a secondary infection from the bacteria in the snake's fangs.