Creepy C intruder ntru BIT my m little littl girl
I couldn’t believe what had done this to my little girl
Jaime Anderson, 42, South Ockendon
Skipping along the pavement, my daughter Bella couldn’t wait to get to her friend’s house for a sleepover. It was September last year – and, as I hurried to catch up, I noticed an angry, red welt on her arm.
‘That’s a nasty one,’ I said. ‘I know, Mummy,’ Bella, 7, replied. ‘But it doesn’t hurt.’ Bella and her big sister Laurena, 9, had been bitten to pieces by mosquitoes all summer. This latest bite had swollen to the size of a 50p piece. Not that Bella was complaining... But, after two days, the edges of the bite were blistering. I took her to the local walk-in health centre to get looked over. ‘No temperature,’ a nurse said, examining the wound. ‘Looks like it could be a spider bite.’ She advised us to keep the area covered for the next four days. Only, the next day, the plaster peeled off. Underneath, Bella’s skin looked awful. The site of the bite was weepy, possibly infected.
Taking Bella to our doctor’s surgery, even the nurse squirmed.
Bella was so brave, though, didn’t flinch.
Cleaning it up once more, the nurse sent us on our way.
I left the plaster off, hoping a bit of air would help to dry it out. Only... Tucked up on the sofa for a movie with the girls and my husband Trevor, 42, I glanced at Bella’s arm.
The solid welt had burst and was leaking pus.
I grabbed some tissues and pressed them against the wound as gunk seeped out.
‘Mummy, this is horrible!’ Bella groaned.
‘I know, but I promise you’ll be better soon,’ I said.
Would she, though?
The flesh in the middle of the bite was sinking into her arm, the outside edges were inflamed and raised.
I have to say, I’d never seen anything like it!
‘Back to the doctor tomorrow,’ I told Trevor. ‘First thing,’ he agreed. At 10.30am, Bella and I were at A&E, where we were seen by a paediatrician.
‘I really don’t like the look
of that!’ he said to me.
Until now, Bella hadn’t moaned or shed a tear – but as her lip began to wobble, I pulled her close for a hug.
The doctor sent photos of Bella’s arm to a children’s skin specialist at Broomfield Hospital.
A plastic surgeon there saw the photos, and diagnosed the problem instantly.
‘It looks identical to a bite he got on his own leg,’ our doctor explained. ‘From a false black widow spider.’
‘What?!’ I shrieked. It sounded so dramatic.
I’d taught both of my girls not to be scared of spiders – and I always tried to practice what I preached myself. Now I felt panic rising... I didn’t know much about false black widows, but I knew enough to know Bella’s wound was bad. After dropping Laurena at my mum’s, we rushed Bella to Broomfield. ‘I don’t want an operation, Mummy!’ she sobbed. The plastic surgeon came to see us, and calmed her down. ‘I had a bite just like yours,’ he said to her, ‘So I know you will get better.’
Bella was given antibiotics through a drip and had a local anaesthetic, while the wound was cleaned and bandaged.
She’d be monitored overnight, and we’d know if she’d need surgery in the morning.
My mind raced. What about the nerve endings in her arm? Could the infection spread?
Could she lose feeling in her hand or arm?
That was the longest night of my life.
But the next morning, there was good news.
‘The antibiotics are working,’ our consultant beamed happily. Such a relief!
The surgeon explained that he’d operated on a little girl with the same type of bite just a month earlier. Apparently, false black widow spiders were creeping all around Essex...
Yikes!
I couldn’t believe I hadn’t heard anything till now.
I posted a message on Facebook, warning other locals to watch out for the crawly critters, and symptoms of their bites.
In 24 hours, my Facebook post was shared more than 12,000 times, as far away as America and Australia!
Dozens of strangers posted photos of their bites and compared notes.
Others shared their stories of how they’d nearly lost a finger or a foot!
Thankfully, little Bella was discharged from hospital with a week of antibiotics to finish at home. Already, the bite looked much better. Bella was back to health just in time for the first day of school. We reckon she got the bite while playing in the garden, but I can’t keep the girls locked indoors, so I’ve taught them both what false black widows look like. The critters have black, bulbous bodies, with a distinctive white ‘skull’ shape on their backs. I still can’t believe what a little spider did to my poor girl’s arm.
If I’d known what I should look out for, I would have acted sooner.
Bella’s awful bite has healed, but she’s terrified of spiders now. I can’t blame her! Every night, we have to strip her bed and check the drawers in her bedroom.
I reassure her that most of the spiders we come across are harmless house ones but, whenever she sees one, she freaks out.
Only time will tell if Bella’s fears, like her scar, will fade.
Apparently, they were creeping all around Essex!