A doctor who was bitten three times by a deadly snake that dropped onto her head and then slipped under her T-shirt as she swam through a waterfall has said the experience rekindled her faith, but left her terrified of snakes.

Doctor Dieynne Saugo was bitten by a jararaca snake at a waterfall in Nobres in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso after it first dropped on her head on 30th August, 2020.

Now, more than three years after the incident, the doctor told local media: “I was at the Serra Azul waterfall, a tourist attraction in the municipality of Rosario, west of Mato Grosso, located approximately 90 km from Nobres. I had visited the place before, but this time I went with my boyfriend and friends.

“I saw the snake falling, felt the bite on my chin and started screaming.

“It got into my vest, I pulled it with my left hand and it stung me two more times.

“At the time of the accident, we didn’t know which snake it was. I only knew it was poisonous because I started feeling really sick the moment I got the bites.”

She was taken away from the beauty spot on a zipline, as she was unable to walk down from the waterfall.

She said: “I had to zip line down, we drove 90 km to the hotel to get our things and we had no idea how much of a risk I was taking.

“On the road, I started to get worse and, halfway through, the guide who was with us had managed to film the snake and identified that it was a jararaca.

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“Knowing which species it was would be very important to be able to take the serum correctly.

“As soon as I arrived at the emergency room, I took the antibotropic serum. But the treatment took a while and by that time I was already swollen, feeling very ill, with digestive bleeding and vomiting a lot of blood.

“As it was at the height of Covid-19, it was very difficult to find an ICU in private hospitals.

“On the fifth day of admission to the ICU. I had already had a tracheostomy, but I was experiencing persistent bleeding. It was then that my family chose to transfer me to Sao Paulo, to the Albert Einstein Hospital.

“It was desperate, because I started to feel really sick, vomiting a lot of blood and the ambulance only picked me up when I was already in Cuiaba.

“At that time I had already lost consciousness. I vaguely remember the moment I was receiving the serum and waiting for a place in the ICU.

“I felt distressed because I wanted to be discharged as soon as possible, it took me a while to understand the severity of the condition.

“But I remained with unshakable, confident and strong faith, even knowing all the risks I was taking, both due to the consequences of the poison and Covid.”

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Dieynne now says that she has recovered completely and still does walks in nature and even returned near the same waterfall where she suffered the incident.

She said: “I was hospitalized for almost a month, taking several medications such as antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, painkillers and anticoagulants. I had to have a tracheostomy and fasciotomy surgery.

“But, after I was discharged, I had no after-effects.

“I did physiotherapy for a while, I resumed training to strengthen my muscles and regain lean mass. As soon as I could, I quickly got back into my work routine.”

“The place is beautiful and I went back there a year later, on the date of the accident.

“It wasn’t at the same waterfall, but it was close. I even heard that tourism increased a lot there after my accident was publicized.”

However, Dieynne said she is still terrified of snakes but her faith increased after the incident.

The doctor said: “I love taking walks in nature, but I’m terrified of snakes. I’m afraid, it’s something that makes me despair just thinking about them.

“I’m not traumatized, especially because I go in the water, in waterfalls and all of this could lead to the accident, but I’ve become a more scared person.

“Anything that touches me scares me.”