(Columbia) - A Columbia girl is thankful to be alive after a 17-foot snake bit her hand.
Mekazia Cambridge, 12, was bitten by a burmmse python when she was playing at a friend's house. She was handling her pet gerbil earlier and that's why the python snapped at her hand when she went to pet the snake.
The python latched onto her hands and then started to wrap around her body. But Mekazia says she remembered what to do from watching the Animal Planet Network. She said she played dead, and when the snake began to loosen it's grip on her hand, she pulled it out.
Mekazia says her encounter with the snake hasn't scared her away from her dreams of becoming a veterinarian.