Bitten In The Hospital

An amputation could be Gemma’s best option...

- Elle Griffiths/Hattie Bishop

Gazing at my sleeping son, 16, worry surged through me.

‘You’re going to be alright,’ I said.

Days earlier, he’d been rushed to hospital with chest pains, and I was worried sick.

The outer lining of his heart was inflamed and he needed medication to treat it.

That night, in August last year, I’d opened the window to let air into the stuffy hospital room, when I spotted a spider across the room. It had distinctive markings.

Dismissing it, I put my feet up and tried to get some sleep.

But in the middle of the night, I awoke with a start.

The spider was on my bare right foot, wouldn’t budge.

Reaching down to brush it off, I felt a sharp pain.

‘Ow!’ I gasped.

It felt like a bee sting. The little critter had bitten me!

Next morning, I awoke to my foot tingling and itching.