There are a lot of things to worry about when you are pregnant.
You worry about your own health, the health of your baby, how delivery will go and many other things. The last thing a pregnant woman needs to worry about is a spider bite. Kendall Butler was seven months pregnant with her daughter Angel when she felt a slight pain in her stomach. She had been bitten by a spider.
At first, she didn’t think much of it. When she told her doctor what had happened, he became nervous, and the bite became more painful for Kendall. The doctor realized she had been bitten by a brown recluse spider, one of the most dangerous spiders in the world.
The spider’s venom as breaking down the tissue around her stomach where it had bitten her, and it was even becoming dangerous for her baby.
As time went on, the wound got worse, and even the news outlets who were covering her story couldn’t show photos of it.
Doctors were able to prevent the venom from traveling to other parts of Kendall’s body, but they couldn’t repair the damage until after she gave birth to her daughter. Kendall also knew that some spiders and insects can transmit diseases that can spread from mother to child and make labor and delivery complicated.
Still, she delivered a healthy baby girl.
She did have a few struggles, but Angel came into the world with only a few scares.
“Her clavicle on the right side was fractured on the way out. I had to be induced because I was 41 weeks, and her heart kept dropping due to the meds used, so labor was started at 9cm dilated.”
After delivering Angel and recovering, it was time for doctors to take care of Kendall’s spider bite.
She was left with a giant gaping hole in her stomach, and doctors had to find a way to cover it.
“The hole sucked my stomach in like a horse kicked me in it, and the scar tissue is so thick. The whole section has to be cut out and removed, and the area would look like it never happened.”
Her stretchmarks were nothing compared to the horrible scars left by the spider bite and the surgery to repair the damaged skin.
Brown recluse bites are rare but can be deadly if left untreated.
If a spider bites you, wash the area with hot, soapy water and monitor it. If the pain becomes severe or worsens after the bite, see a doctor immediately.
Kendall is thankful that she and he daughter are both healthy and safe, and she now checks for spiders in her bed before she goes to sleep at night. She has also set up a GoFundMe account to help her raise money for her stomach surgery.
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