The Itsy Bitsy Spider Bite

All wrapped up

I’m sitting in the Emergency Room lobby waiting for Edna as I write this. This is our fourth visit since we came over to the Central Coast to visit friends and hopefully get a little rest. After three different antibiotics, including an IV drip, we are probably on our way back to Visalia today falling short of our intended goal of seeing everyone and squeezing in a day of rest. It all started with a small spider bite that Edna noticed on her hand when she woke up last Sunday morning.

On Monday, we made our way over to the coast only to have the spider bite rapidly become infected. Fortunately we had just finalized our ticket changes to extend our U.S. stay until August 12th to allow for Edna to see a neurosurgeon about the damaged discs in her spine. (The unfortunate part is that the airline charged us $2,800 to make the change and would not honor a medical waiver.)

The infected area at the base of her right index finger was first cut open and drained, then cut open again and packed with gauze ribbon a day later. (You can see the photo if you aren’t squeamish by clicking HERE.) When that didn’t work they had to again open it up and flush everything out and then immobilize her hand. If her hand doesn’t improve, a hand surgeon may need to do a further surgical procedure to stop the infection. Needless to say it has been a very painful experience for her (and for Joshua who has come down with an ear infection). I now have to admit that her fear of spiders is justified and I’ll refrain from any further teasing regarding her validated arachnophobia.

Please keep us all in prayer.