A Florala woman is recovering after being bitten by a timber rattlesnake Wednesday afternoon.

Lacy Ard remains in the intensive care unit of Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola, Fla., in critical condition after being struck by the 13-inch baby snake.

Ard’s boyfriend, John Lowery, said the family had returned to their Lowery Road home, in the Clear Creek Community, shortly after having dinner out. The couple was in separate vehicles after picking up Ard’s truck from a local Chevrolet dealership. Lowery said Ard got out of the truck, walked inside, but immediately went back out to unload the truck.

“She went to the passenger side, opened the door, and that’s when it popped her in the ankle,” he said.

Lowery said while he was unable to kill the snake, he was able to get a positive identification. He said he rushed Ard to Florala Memorial Hospital, who did not have anti-venom on hand.

“We jumped back into the truck and flew to Andalusia Regional Hospital, where they gave her all the anti-venom they had – four units,” he said. Once Ard was stabilized, she was transported to the Pensacola, Fla., hospital by Advanced EMS, he said.

“By then, she said it felt like every thing from her waist up was on fire,” Lowery said. “It was very scary for everyone.”

Lowery said doctors told him Ard could need up to 30 units of anti-venom to recover.

“I couldn’t believe such a little snake could do so much damage,” he said. “But the doctors said the little snakes are the worst ones because they shoot out so much venom. They give it everything they’ve got and don’t know when to stop.”

Lowery said Ard is expected to move into a private room by tonight – if the recovery process goes as planned.