So, It has been confirmed that I was bitten by a brown recluse spider (BRS) --also known as the fiddleback. Where did it happen? In the safety of my own home! Thats right...I went into my closet, grabbed a pair of capris of the shelf, put them on, and as soon as I buttoned them I felt a sharp poke on the right side of my leg, just below my buttocks.
Initially I thought it was a sticker or goathead. We do live in the country y'all and sometimes if a sock goes in the wash with a sticker on it, it'll randomly attach to the inside of a shirt or some other unexpected sinister location, just waiting to surprise you with a poke!
Okay so it obviously wasn't a sticker and I discovered this when I reached down where the pinch was to pull my pants away from my leg and when I did that "it" popped! At that moment I just knew that it was a spider, but had no idea that it was the BRS. I dropped my pants ever-so-quickly and saw the long, creepy, spindly legs of the culprit! I decided I should probably keep "him" and placed him in an old contact lens case.
About 6 hours later, I talked to my Mom who is not only a treasure trove of information with years of experience to draw from as a Mom, but also an RN. I sent her a picture of the suspected fiddleback. We found "the fiddle" after comparing it to other pics online. She convinces me to call my doctor, who in turn instructs me to go directly to the ER. I did.
At the ER, I am in little to no pain and honestly felt rather silly for even being there --even though I was certain at this point that it was a brown recluse bite, but I kept telling myself, "better to be safe than sorry!" Turns out there is nothing that can be done for a BRS bite. They gave me a tetanus shot since it had been more than 5 years since my last. Honestly, I think the last tetanus shot I received was upon arrival at The Parris Island Marine Corps Recruit Depot (Gimme One!!) 16 years ago. the doc also gave me some antibiotics for the looming infection in my leg, and some Lortab for the pain that was sure to also arrive in the hours to come.
So, what in the world is going to happen to me? Well, every person reacts differently to a BRS bite. It all depends on how much venom was injected, where you were bitten, and how your immune system reacts to the bite. There are some really disturbing images on Google and I am hoping and praying that this blog will be boring and uneventful. I do not desire a gangrenous, gaping hole in my leg. Eeew! So that's the story. Now we wait and see how tough I really am.
(See next entry for day 2 pics and updates.)
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