NBC News’ Emilie Ikeda reveals husband was bitten by a venomous SNAKE the night before their wedding

NBC News correspondent Emilie Ikeda has been candid about how her marriage was nearly derailed after her husband was bitten by a venomous snake on the night of their rehearsal dinner.

The 28-year-old described the scary incident in an essay published by Today on Tuesday, saying she and her then-fiance, Pat, spent 12 hours at LeConte Medical Center in Sevierville, Tennessee, after his unfortunate encounter with a copper head.

Emilie explained that the incident happened when they were leaving a rental house on a peak in the Smoky Mountains. They were planning to spend the night in separate huts and were on their way to their car when he was bitten.

The journalist explained in her essay for Today that she and Pat were leaving a rented house in the Smoky Mountains when a snake bit him in the ankle.

“While walking down a dimly lit path, I saw Pat suddenly jump and grab his ankle,” she recalled. “He assumed it was a very angry hornet. As I walked a few steps behind him, I knew it was worse. A snake slipped away.’

The journalist said the snake managed to ‘bite’ him just above his leather shoe and below his trouser leg,” saying they were “impressed by its precision.”

Their family assured them that it probably wasn’t a venomous snake, but they didn’t want to take any chances. Emilie had Pat track down the snake and take a picture of it.

They quickly identified it as a copper head thanks to its triangular head.

They realized the snake was a copper head after they tracked it down and took a photo. Copperhead snakes are venomous, but their bites are rarely fatal

After Pat’s ankle started to feel numb, they marked the first swelling with a pen and went to the emergency room together

The couple spent 12 hours at LeConte Medical Center in Sevierville after Pat’s unfortunate collision with a copper head

Emilie said she couldn’t believe her outdoor partner was bitten by a venomous snake the night before their wedding as she walked to their car.

After Pats just started going numb, they marked the first swelling with a pen and went to the emergency room together.

“On the edge of Smoky Mountains National Park, we thought medical professionals were very familiar with snakebites. No,’ she said.

Emilie recalled how one nurse said she hadn’t treated a snakebite in about six years, while another asked, “Aren’t copperhead bites typically fatal?”

Emilie couldn’t believe her outdoor partner was finally bitten by a venomous snake while walking to their car

Emilie said the stress she felt about seating and flowers in the months leading up to their wedding dissipated, and they spent the night in the hospital laughing and talking.

Luckily, they already knew that wasn’t the case and didn’t panic.

Copperhead snakes have relatively mild venom, and their bites are rarely fatal to humans, he said Live Science.

Emilie said they initially found the humor in the situation because Pat’s symptoms and swelling were minor.

“Despite a grapefruit-sized ankle and calf, Pat’s prognosis was good,” she explained. “He needed rest, and thankfully no antivenom, which was a relief after Google results for ‘the cost of treating a snakebite’ suggested a six-figure hospital bill.”

Pat was fired the next morning and was able to ‘stumble down the aisle’ at their wedding

Emilie thanked the snake at the end of her essay, saying it reminded them that each other was the most important thing on their wedding day.

It was nearing midnight when the doctor told them that Pat had to be checked into the hospital for 12 hours, which would barely give him time to get to their ceremony.

Emilie said the hospital room had no TV or magazines and she had to pull two chairs together to make herself a makeshift bed, but they still managed to make the most of a bad situation.

The stress she felt about table arrangements and flowers in the months leading up to their wedding dissipated, and they spent the night laughing and talking.

Released the next morning, Pat was able to “stumble down the aisle” on his swollen foot, and while it wasn’t an ideal situation, it brought them closer together.

“So to the snake, I say, thank you,” she concluded her essay. “Thank you for helping us remember the most important thing on one of the most important days: each other.”