A Kansas mom is fighting for her health nearly three months after being bitten by spiders on a lakeside retreat.
Britagne Miller was sitting around a campfire at Cheney Lake with her husband and four children in May when she was bitten by multiple spiders. Several days later, she developed what looked like a painful bruise near one of those bites, according to ABC 7 Chicago.
“This one kept swelling and swelling,” Miller said in an interview. “It was like shooting down my leg into my foot, and it felt like it was being stabbed.”
She had developed a large hematoma, a type of blood clot, and was forced to undergo surgery on her calf, a procedure complicated by the fact that she was already suffering from liver failure and blood clotting disorders. “This made surgery and routine care far more dangerous—doctors warned she could bleed out,” her husband Jake Miller wrote on GoFundMe.
Britagne was admitted to Wesley Hospital in Wichita, Kansas, in early June. Doctors were able to treat her hematoma; however, she developed two infections, including a staph infection, several days later.
“Multiple doctors told us she might have only days to a month to live and recommended hospice after just two weeks in the hospital,” her husband wrote on the GoFundMe page set up to help raise funds for her care and the family’s living expenses. “But she refused to give up.”
The GoFundMe page has nearly reached its goal of raising a total of $60,000.
In early July, she was eventually able to go home to her husband and children, who range in age from 9 to 15. Miller is still in need of a liver transplant, but she isn’t yet eligible to join the waiting list for the organ.
“Before she can be considered for transplant surgery, doctors must get her blood clotting and labs stable enough to tolerate the operation,” her husband wrote on her GoFundMe page. “That stabilization process could take several months, and until then every day is focused on helping her body heal and become strong enough for the next step.”
Still, he’s optimistic. “I have watched her endure more pain than I ever thought a person could survive, and somehow, she still finds the strength to fight,” he wrote. “If there’s anyone who can make it through this, it’s Britagne.”
To prevent potentially dangerous and venomous spider bites, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends people inspect and shake out clothing, shoes, towels, or equipment before use, and wear protective clothing (like long-sleeved shirts, long pants, and gloves) when handling stacked or undisturbed piles of materials. People should also learn how to identify spiders in order to best respond to a bite.
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