Tottie Weatherspoon, our friend from Australia, writes in her journal, to let people know how she is doing. (She is recovering from a bite from a funnel web spider.)
November 3, 2007, Sydney, Australia~
Dear Journal~
Tottie here.
I'm afraid I'm out of sorts. Have been under the weather; been really sick for the past week. Just got out of hospital earlier today; am feeling weakened, but somehow, still feeling better.
Mum and Dad are here, helping me out. It is greatly appreciated.
Got bitten by a funnel web, a nasty sort of spider: I was getting up to go to the restroom, felt something in my shoe. When I moved my foot, I felt a stabbing, piercing pain that nearly took my breath away. That's when I saw the spider run out of my shoe.
I nearly passed out from fright. If there's one thing I absolutely abhor, it's spiders, particularly the funnel web. Funnels can get to a rather large size, and they are aggressive: they can attack without provocation; they are so poisonous they can make a person turn sick in a matter of a few short hours, possibly even kill the elderly, the infirm, little tots, even babies. They are that poisonous.
Funnels are nothing to mess with.
Anyway, after I got bit, I started having difficulty breathing; it wasn't long before me gam swelled up, turned an ugly red-purple color, started feeling nauseated, then got the chills as the poison worked its deadly path up me body. By this time I was panicking: I was soon on the telephone, calling for an ambulance; I needed to get to hospital as soon as possible.
I was immediately rushed into emergency room at hospital, then admitted. They started administering antivenom via IV tube, hooked me up to a heart monitor, gave me oxygen to alleviate me breathing. It was terrifying.
I ended up in Intensive Care. I was in ICU for four days; three in regular care, then released just this morning. I am still sick, still feel like bloody hell, yet I think the worst is behind me. I feel more like myself.
I will have to have me house fumigated; I can't afford to have anymore spiders runnin' on their eight legs in me house. I am severely arachiphobic; spiders undo me. I can't even look at a picture of a spider or see one on television without freakin' out.
It has been a nightmare come true for me; if I get any sleep tonight I'll be surprised.
I think I am going to go to a motel, anything to ensure no more spider attacks during the night. If there's one spider in me house, what's to say there aren't more of them??
When in Australia I have always stopped my soks in them and gave the shoes a violent shake for good measure, scorpions are tricky fellows too. (they said that if you pee around your shoes you will have no visitors during the night going inside them)
Georg
I hates spiders. And the first thing I see (after the title) is a big ole nasty arachnid. Thanks a lot, Karen. If I have nightmares, it's not because of the write (it's excellent), it's due to that pic!!!! Well done *cringecringecringe*.
Great update and a good lesson on this type of spider, perhaps we should get Shee over to de-spider the house. Seriously thought phobias of any type are so upsetting and so real to the person who suffers with them.
WOW Karen! This is great! You really have the dialect and the trauma Tottie suffered down pat and took it to the reader in a manner it could be easily understood.
Love,
annie
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