Those of you who know about the effect of a Brown Recluse (AKA Fiddleback Spider) bite are wide-eyed at this moment thinking, “Good grief woman! Get yourself to the hospital… NOW!” Let me clarify. I was bitten by a brown recluse … when I was 18. And I didn’t even notice! It was my mother who first took note of an unusual bruise on my thigh. That I couldn’t remember where it came from was not out of the ordinary. I frequently had bruises I couldn’t account for. Any slight bump seemed to make them appear so after a while I just stopped keeping track. Anyway, neither of us were particularly concerned until a few days later when we realized that unlike normal bruises this one was not shrinking. Instead it grew at a tremendous rate. What started the size of a 50 cent piece was now larger than both my hands … with fingers outstretched. And it developed an intriguing black hole (about the size of a pinhead) in the center. Then it stopped. Erring on the side of caution (HA!) we made a doctor appointment for the following week. I didn’t have a regular physician at that time but my old pediatrician agreed to see me. I remember sitting in the waiting room – the only child present without her mommy. Typical doctor tests and questions then, “You’ve been bitten by a spider. A fiddleback.”
“Is that bad?”
“Usually. How long did you say you’ve had this bruise?”
“Two or three weeks.”
The doc shook her head, clearly puzzled, then sent me away with a prescription and instructions to return IMMEDIATELY if there were any more growth. There never was. I took the pills down to the last one even though the bruising was gone long before then.
I am telling you about this now because I woke this morning to find one of these solitary spiders in my bed mercilessly smooshed (That’s a scientific term.) beneath one of my pillows and it reminded me.
*To be completely honest – spider bites are inaccurately attributed to the brown recluse at least half the time which means it is quite possible mine was a misdiagnosis but it makes a good story anyway.
Ugh! That story gave me chills! I’m not a fan of spiders. I am a merciless smoosher.