Sydney mum bitten by white-tailed spider has her leg amputated at Nepean Hospital

A mother of five was about to start her “dream job” when she was bitten on the foot by a white-tailed spider.

Two and a half months later, doctors at Nepean Hospital near Penrith, Sydney, amputated Kristal Joseph’s left leg below the knee in a desperate attempt to prevent a malignant infection from spreading to the rest of her body.

The 29-year-old from Jordan Springs, in western Sydney, is too devastated from Thursday’s surgery to talk.

But her husband, Callum, told Daily Mail Australia the family is struggling to come to terms with what happened.

“It’s totally life-changing,” he said.

“It has taken a huge emotional, mental and physical toll on Crystal. The whole process has been such an ordeal for her and our family.”

Kristal, who shares three children with Callum and is a devoted mother to two stepchildren from his previous relationship, was due to start working at a funeral home on March 1.

The events and arranger role was her “dream job,” but she was bitten by a spider a week before she was due to start.

The bite became infected and led to her going in and out of the hospital as doctors struggled to treat it.

White-tailed spiders are common in homes across Australia and range in size between 12-18mm.

While not venomous, their bite can cause a mild reaction, including itching and skin discoloration.

But it is still a matter of great debate whether their bite can cause serious cases of skin ulcers in humans, such as the one that affected Kristal.

Callum, 34, added: ‘The doctors thought the bite would go away on its own, but it turned into a big blister and said it was oozing.’

“She had to undergo urgent debridement a few days later. They ended up removing half of her ankle.”

Kristal underwent 10 debridement surgeries, during which the wound was cleaned and infected skin, tendons and dead tissue were removed.

She has been in and out of hospital for 12 weeks as medical staff struggled to get the infection under control.

But two weeks ago, doctors called Callum at work to tell him that Kristal had only 48 hours to live after she was rushed to intensive care with stage five kidney failure.

In the end they managed to stabilize her.

However, when the infection spread to her tendons, ligaments and bones, the doctors had no choice but to amputate to save her life.

Callum, who works as a rental coordinator for a company that rents industrial generators, said they have been left in the dark about why the infection has not responded to treatment.

“Something must have gone wrong, but we don’t know what,” he said.

“The doctors and medical staff are trying to figure out what went wrong and we are waiting for a biopsy and other test results.”

“For some reason it takes a long time because they have to grow some kind of bacteria.”

Callum has taken unpaid leave to stay by her side during treatment while other family members help to care for their children.

“She’s on a lot of painkillers and tries to get as much sleep as possible,” he said.

This isn’t the first time Crystal has faced adversity.

In addition to having had type 1 diabetes all her life, she was diagnosed with the extremely rare Perthes disease at the age of seven, in which the “ball” in the hip joint slowly crumbles and dies from a lack of blood supply.

She was hospitalized and bedridden for four months before having her legs put in broomstick bandages for two years.

At age 23, the disease worsened to the point that she required a total hip replacement.

Still, good friend Nicole Rugendyke says that Kristal “never, never complains.”

“She faces these challenges with courage and composure,” Mrs. Rugendyke wrote.

She is always thinking of others. She never likes to draw attention to herself, make a fuss or ask for help.”

Mrs. Rugendyke has one GoFundMe pagewho has raised over $20,000 to date, to help with Kristal’s long road to recovery.