Spider bite causes mother-of-four to be ravaged by a deadly flesh-eating bug which has left her disabled
- Tamara Owsley-Savard, from Kansas, was nipped by a brown recluse spider
- The 32-year-old noticed her left arm began to swell just two days after the bite
- But her condition worsened on June 7 and her arm began to dramatically grow
- She was rushed to St Francis Hospital in Topeka, where she spent three days
- Doctors then transferred her to Kansas University Medical Center in Kansas City
- They diagnosed her with necrotizing fasciitis, a flesh-eating bacterial infection
A mother-of-four has been left permanently disabled after being ravaged by a flesh-eating infection from a spider bite.
Tamara Owsley-Savard, 32, from Topeka, Kansas, was nipped by a brown recluse spider after she ran into a web while camping with her family.
She noticed her left forearm began to swell just two days after the bite, though she hoped it would eventually heal.
But her condition worsened on June 7 – ten days after she was bitten at Perry Lake, Kansas – and her arm began grow in size, swelling one inch every hour.
Mrs Owsley-Savard was rushed to St Francis Hospital, where she spent three days before being transferred to Kansas University Medical Center in Kansas City.
Doctors diagnosed her with necrotizing fasciitis, a flesh-eating bacterial infection, which was attacking the tissues and muscles the left side of her body.
Tamara Owsley-Savard, 32, from Topeka, Kansas, was nipped by a brown recluse spider after she ran into a web while camping with her family (pictured in hospital)
Doctors diagnosed her with necrotizing fasciitis, a flesh-eating infection, which was attacking the tissues and muscles the left side of her body (pictured with her husband David, 30)
Mrs Owsley-Savard, a supervisor, spent 16 days in the hospital’s intensive care unit as she underwent twelve surgeries to try to contain the deadly infection.
Surgeons were forced to remove the pectoral muscle on her arm, which means she will never be able to lift it above her head.
She also underwent three skin graft surgeries on her arm, chest and back after doctors were forced to cut away infected tissue.
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Recalling her ordeal, Mrs Owsley-Savard said: ‘It was Memorial Day weekend and we were camping at Perry Lake.
‘I was playing hide and go seek with my kids when I ran into the biggest spider web I had ever seen in my life. It covered my whole body.
‘One of them bite me on the forearm, and it hurt but not more than if you had been bitten by a fly or a mosquito.
Surgeons were forced to remove the pectoral muscle on her arm, which means she will never be able to lift it above her head (pictured in hospital)
She also underwent three skin graft surgeries on her arm, chest and back after doctors were forced to cut away infected tissue (pictured in hospital)
WHAT IS NECROTISING FASCIITIS?
Necrotising fasciitis is most commonly caused by an infection with group A Streptococcus, but can be caused by several different types of bacteria.
They infect flat layers of a membrane known as the fascia, which are connective bands of tissue that surround muscles, nerves, fat, and blood vessels. The infection also damages the tissues next to the fascia.
Sometimes toxins made by these bacteria destroy the tissue they infect, causing it to die. When this happens, the infection is very serious and can result in loss of limbs or death.
Necrotising fasciitis can progress very quickly and lead to serious problems such as sepsis and organ failure. The infection kills 40 per cent of sufferers, even with treatment, according to the NHS.
Those who survive can often be left with long-term disability as a result of amputation, or the removal of infected tissue.
‘It wasn’t very painful but my arm began to swell on the second day. I was stubborn and I thought it would get better with time.
‘But by the next week my arm was swelling and swelling, about an inch per hour. I knew I had to go to the doctor.’
She added: ‘They decided they didn’t have the expertise to treat me in St Francis and I was transferred to KU Medical Center on June 11.
‘I was really scared because they told me I could lose my arm. The doctors finally told me what I had – a freaking flesh eating bug which had spread to my chest too.’
Mrs Owsley-Savard said her family, including her technician husband David Savard, 30, feared she wouldn’t pull through.
She added: ‘My family thought I was going to die.
‘My mum flew in from Oregon and my brother flew from California. They were told how seriously ill I was.
‘My husband thought I was going to die and leave behind four children.’
Mrs Owsley-Savard said her family, including her technician husband David Savard, 30, feared she wouldn’t pull through (pictured in hospital)
Mrs Owsley-Savard spent 41 days in KU Medical Center before she was discharged on July 18 (pictured in hospital)
Mrs Owsley-Savard said she will never go camping again and was shocked that a bite from a common spider has changed her life so dramatically
Mrs Owsley-Savard went to St Francis Hospital, where she spent three days before being transferred to Kansas University Medical Center in Kansas City (pictured with husband David)
Mrs Owsley-Savard spent 41 days in KU Medical Center before she was discharged on July 18.
She fears she will not be able to return to her job as a supervisor as doctors were forced to remove her pectoral muscle in her left arm.
Mrs Owsley-Savard said: ‘I’ve been left permanently disabled as they were forced to take my pectoral muscle which helps you lift.
‘I have a two year old that I will struggle to pick up after this. My body is covered in skin grafts but I haven’t looked at myself in the mirror yet.’
Mrs Owsley-Savard said she will never go camping again and was shocked that a bite from a common spider has changed her life so dramatically.
‘I would have never thought a spider would be capable of this s***. It’s freaking insane.
‘If your arm starts swelling don’t do what I did and be stubborn and get yourself to a hospital.’
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