Peggy Jones, 64, was mowing her lawn last month when a passing hawk dropped a snake on her before swooping down to angrily try to reclaim its meal.
The snake wrapped itself around her arm and began striking her face as the bird sunk its talons deep into her flesh.
The bizarre incident took place on 25 July in the town of Silsbee, Texas, near the Louisiana border.
The hawk struggled to remove the snake from Mrs Jones body, stabbing her with its talons repeatedly as it attempted to snatch back its food.
"There were puncture wounds, cuts, abrasions, scratches and severe bruising," she said, adding that the snake's attacks to her face damaged her glasses.
Mrs Jones described the attack as severely traumatic, adding that she thought she was going to die and has had trouble sleeping since it happened.
I dunno, Australia has fire-spreading hawks. A snake is more immediately alarming, but I feel like the potential for the situation escalating out of control is greater with fire. Hawks don't seem like they have great fire control practices.