Hyperbaric Oxygen Helps Woman Keep Her Leg After Poisonous Spider Bite

MEMPHIS, TN (KAIT/WATN) - Summertime means more insects and one woman is grateful for her health after surviving a spider bite.

According to a report from ABC affiliate WATN, Darcy Campbell was bitten by a brown recluse during a hotel stay in Georgia that left her with a nasty scar.

“It was still in the back of my mind if I don’t take care of it, I could lose my leg or a bigger part of my leg,” Campbell said.

She underwent 17 hyperbaric oxygen treatments, surgery, and a wound vac to help her infection heal.

“It was keeping me from losing my leg, losing more tissue than I already had because it ate down to my fat and muscle and to keep me from being deadly sick because I was sick the whole summer from it,” Campbell said.

“They were thinking I was going to need a skin graft. They said at one point if it got any bigger, any younger or older you could have lost your leg easily.”

Todd Johnson, an entomologist with Presto-X Pest Control, said you can avoid bites if you take the necessary precautions. “If you’re shaking out your clothes, shaking out areas, wearing gloves when you’re working in sheds or your garage, then you will reduce your risk of bites,” Johnson said.

Johnson added that if you’re worried about brown recluses in your home, you can add glue traps.

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