Kansas mother may need liver transplant after suspected brown recluse bite at Cheney Lake - Yahoo

What the report says

Yahoo Entertainment, citing local outlet KAKE, reported that Kansas mother Britagne Miller is recovering at home after a suspected spider bite during a family outing at Cheney Lake led to a serious medical crisis. Miller told KAKE the incident began on May 28, when several spiders crawled on her near a campfire and bit her. Four days later, she sought hospital care after bruising near a bite on her calf grew swollen and increasingly painful.

According to the report, Miller had existing health complications, including two blood-clotting disorders, a compromised liver and multiple allergies. Doctors performed surgery and removed nearly 300 milliliters of blood clots, while also placing a drain to help the wound heal. Miller said her condition later worsened with staph and gram-negative infections, and doctors believed she was in end-stage liver failure. She was reportedly released from the hospital on July 11 and is now pursuing at-home care while trying to become eligible for a liver transplant.

The suspected bite has been linked early on to a brown recluse, based on the wound location. KAKE quoted Raymond Cloyd, a Kansas State University horticultural entomologist, saying Kansas has two venomous spiders: black widows and brown recluses, with the latter more common across much of the Midwest and mid-central Kansas.

Yahoo’s report also noted financial strain on Miller’s family, including her husband losing work because of caregiving demands. The family has launched a GoFundMe for medical and household costs. Cloyd advised precautions such as wearing gloves around stored boxes, checking shoes and sealing cracks where spiders and insects may enter homes.