Are you one of those people that says, “They’re more scared of you than you are of them” when someone screams at a spider?
Well, we’ve got news for you. They’re not.
Certainly not this one particular white-tailed ~~devil incarnate~~ spider, whose bite resulted in a man needing both legs and possibly both arms amputated.
Filipino tourist Terry Pareja was visiting his relatives in northwest Victoria when he was bitten, but he didn’t seek medical attention until days later.
By that time, his foot was already black and swollen. He was immediately rushed to Horsham hospital when they amputated his right leg before flying him to Melbourne, where his left leg and part of his bowel and spleen were removed.
His brother-in-law Ray Ogleby said his initial symptoms were much like a common cold and it wasn’t until the weekend that his leg started to turn black and he could barely walk.
“There’s no doctor service in Birchip on Saturday and Sunday so he waited until Monday,” he said.
Doctors discovered that the necrotising fasciitis (flesh-eating bacteria) is still present and have suggested amputating both arms according to the GoFundMe page set up by his son.
“I am not sure how well his arms are doing… they didn’t look too good last time,” Pareja’s sister Raquel Ogleby told Fairfax
His kidneys have also been seriously affected and he remains in intensive care.
The GoFund me page has raised $7000 so far for Mr Pareja but his family says he’ll need $30,000 to cover his bills.
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