Redback spider bite turns into years of hell for Edenhope mum with doctors warning of amputation
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A mother of two has suffered excruciating pain and a chronic ulceration on her arm for a staggering eight years after she was bitten by a spider all over Australia.
But the 28-year-old woman’s battle to beat the side effects of the redback spider is not over yet, and doctors warn her arm may still need to be amputated, even after spending tens of thousands of dollars trying to treat it. treat the painful bite.
Jenna Allen, 28, from Edenhope in western Victoria, was bitten by a redback spider in November 2014.
Ms. Allen volunteered for the Donald Country Fire Authority and was preparing to sandbag her home and property to protect it from flooding when she began rummaging through a shoebox on her back deck.
Jenna Allen, a mother of two (pictured), was rummaging through a shoebox on the back terrace of her home in Victoria when a redback spider bit her on her left forearm.
Redback spiders are considered ‘highly venomous’, particularly to young children, and are commonly found hiding in gardens, fences, and even homes.
While looking through the box, Ms. Allen suddenly felt a “stinging sensation” and noticed a black “spot” running up her left forearm.
Thinking it was an insect, he ignored it.
But Ms. Allen soon realized something was seriously wrong after her arm began to throb with pain and she felt a “sick feeling” run through her entire body.
“Looking down my forearm, I gasped to see a long red raised bump following it,” Ms Allen said. That’s Life magazine.
‘Minutes later, I had a headache and shooting pains in my stomach. As goosebumps spread up my arm, my heart sank. Something is very wrong.
A frightened Allen called her father for help, explaining that something had bitten her.
As the pair scoured the terrace floor for clues, Mrs. Allen finally noticed a ‘small’ redback spider about half the size of a nickel.
Redback spiders are common throughout Australia and usually hide in gardens, fences and even in houses. They are considered highly poisonous, particularly to young children.
Her father rushed her to the local hospital; however, she did not have the necessary antidote to treat the bite.
Ms. Allen’s wound became necrotic and she was rushed to surgery, where doctors performed a skin graft and replaced the skin on her forearm with skin from her thigh.
Ms Allen was then taken to another hospital an hour away, where she was given two doses of antidote and rushed to the Intensive Care Unit.
“I was given high levels of antibiotics and painkillers, but within a few days, the doctors told me the wound had become necrotic,” Ms Allen said.
“This meant that the tissue in my arm was dead and the infection was eating away at my skin.”
Doctors then performed a skin graft, taking skin from her left thigh to replace the necrotic wound on her arm.
The wound began to heal and Ms. Allen felt like she was finally getting her life back, but 12 months later, she noticed a rash spreading down her arm.
“I noticed small red bumps resembling mosquito bites extending over my skin graft, from my wrist to my elbow,” Ms. Allen said.
“I didn’t think much of it, but when the bumps turned green and the wound turned into horrible oozing sores, I cried.”
A year after her surgery, Mrs. Allen began noticing small red bumps resembling mosquito bites spreading over my skin graft. The bumps eventually turned green and her wound erupted into hideous, oozing sores.
Once a week for the next several months, Ms. Allen needed her wound cleaned, bandaged, and wrapped with a specialized bandage containing collagen and silver, which aids in healing and prevents bacteria.
Ms. Allen explained that she could barely afford the specialized bandage, since it was not covered by Medicare and cost $1,300 a week.
In 2016, Ms. Allen found Dr. Booth at Swan Hill Medical Center who diagnosed her with a chronic ulceration.
Dr. Booth explained that the venom from the spider bite triggered an immune response that caused his body to reject the skin graft.
Every fortnight, Ms. Allen makes a seven-hour round trip to check on her wound (pictured). She often has to change her bandages daily, which costs her $1,300 a week.
Ms. Allen was referred to the burn unit and often convulsed from the pain in her arm and required local anesthesia when the nurses changed her bandages.
After three months, the wound began to heal but he was left with constant pain in his arm.
In 2020, doctors performed a deep skin biopsy after raising concerns that the wound could spread.
They discovered precancerous cells in the area where the spider had bitten Ms. Allen.
“They suggested that if the wound spread, it might even need amputation,” Ms Allen said.
Every fortnight, he makes the long seven-hour round trip to Swan Hill Medical Center to closely monitor his wound.
Ms Allen said the spider bite had taken a mental and physical toll on her and her family and had “ruined her life as she knew it”.
“When I had my beloved daughter Liliana in May 2021, it was difficult trying to breastfeed and support her little body with one arm… Even getting her in and out of her pram was excruciatingly painful,” Ms Allen said.
“The mental and physical toll that the injury has taken on not only me, but also my family, is exhausting.
‘I work as a dance teacher, which is also exhausting. Despite the medication, the pain is so bad that I often have trouble sleeping.
‘A redback ruined my life as I knew it, but I do my best to stay positive. And I know there are others struggling with chronic injuries who are worse off than I am.
Mrs. Allen’s only wish is to be able to pick up her son and daughter without feeling agonizing pain. Her friend started a GoFundMe page to help cover her medical expenses.
Mrs. Allen’s good friend, Glenn Sarah, started a GoFundMe page to help her with her endless medical costs.
“Currently the bandages on his arm are changed daily due to the amount of lint produced from the wound,” Sarah wrote.
‘Each dressing change is costing you $1,300 a week not including additional medications and products if needed.
“Right now, the costs of Jenna’s weekly bandages are huge, as she has to pay for the bandages herself, especially now that covid has prevented her from traveling to her GP.”
He explained that Ms. Allen’s only wish is to be able to pick up her little song and her daughter without experiencing pain.
As of this writing, the GoFundMe page has received 53 donations totaling ,990 and hopes to raise ,000.