TAMPA (WFLA) — A North Carolina woman had to act quickly after a large snake popped out of a hedge she was trimming in her front yard.

“Something I’ve done a million times before. I do all my own yard work,” Heatherly Noble said.

The Charlotte-area homeowner was trimming her hedges when the snake jumped at her. Noble stepped back, forgetting she was still on top of a ladder, and fell, injuring herself.

“I have what appears to be a torn ACL in my right knee. I have an MRI on Tuesday and see the doctor Friday to determine what the damage is and treatment plan. I’m in a hip to ankle brace now and can hardly move around. I also bruised my tailbone and am very sore all over,” she said.

Even worse, her phone was across the yard and she did not have on gloves, long sleeves, or pants to protect herself.

“My bushes are 6 to 7 feet high, so never occurred to me a snake would be in it,” she said. “This whole thing is nightmare fuel.”

Noble advises people to take extra time to check for animals– or in this case reptiles — before starting yard work this summer.

“I figure if we can help someone else not get hurt, it was at least worth it,” she said.

Noble said she’s received advice herself this week after the video: Take a rake and shake your bushes to let something know you are there.