A woman almost lost her leg after being bitten by a false widow spider in a garden in Staffordshire.
An afternoon in the garden turned into a nightmare that could have been fatal after Bella Lamorte was bitten by a spider last week.
The 39-year-old was visiting her partners in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, last month when she was bitten while sitting outside.
The copywriter, from Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, felt a throbbing sensation on her right ankle later that evening, but in the morning she woke up ‘barely able to walk’.
She said: ‘I went down to see my partner in Stoke and they had just mowed the lawn. We were sitting outside and I was in fishnet tights and I didn’t notice anything biting me.
‘It wasn’t until I went upstairs later on in the night that I felt this throbbing just above my ankle. I’m not allergic to insect bites or ever had a reaction.
‘The next day I felt uncomfortable then on Tuesday I could barely walk. It was so painful. I had to crawl up the staircase. It was so swollen. It felt like someone was constantly stabbing a dagger into my foot.’
After ringing 111, Bella went to Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Buckinghamshire where she was prescribed antibiotics and told to return a few days later.
However, within a week, Bella’s foot had become even more swollen as the infection from the bite spread.
To make matters worse, terrified Bella was told she could have lost her foot or even her leg if she hadn’t gotten help, and her body was battling sepsis.
Bella said: ‘I was in so much pain. I was told they needed to do surgery and cut out the dead flesh because some of it had gone septic.
‘They told me I could’ve lost my foot or my leg. The doctor said it was definitely an insect bite but they weren’t sure it was a spider. But I saw another case where a woman was bitten by a spider, and my wound was the exact same.
‘I believe it was a false widow spider. They said I could’ve lost my life from this.
‘My own sister had sepsis before she died and if it hadn’t been for losing her, I don’t think I would’ve been as tenacious with my own health.’
The infected flesh on her foot was removed in an operation, leaving her foot with a gaping hole. She is now awaiting plastic surgery as her foot will require a skin graft.
She is now back on her feet, but worried about insects now.
Bella said: ‘I’m back on my feet now but still limping. It was so scary to think I could’ve lost my life. I walk into the garden barefoot sometimes and never think this sort of thing would happen. It’s made me never want to go into the garden again.
‘You never expect this in a garden in the UK. It’s made me think twice about wearing my fishnets in the garden!
‘I just wanted to warn people about the dangers. I don’t want anyone else to go through this. I easily could’ve lost my leg, I was terrified.’
She said she now feels ‘hyper vigilant around insects now.’
‘I would tell everyone else to be aware of what’s in their garden. I worry if this was a vulnerable person bitten,’ she added.
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