Tiny spider bite nearly claims man's life

PORT ANGELES, Wash. (AP) – What seemed like a minor spider bite almost turned deadly for a Washington plumber.

The Peninsula Daily News reports that Port Angeles-resident Joel Roberson was working on a plumbing job in May when a tiny spider bit him. A few days later, his leg had swollen to twice its size, then fevers set in. Doctors gave him antibiotics, and he improved, but he soon developed a full-body skin rash.

"One day it would be a little bit better, and so we would put off going to the doctor for another day," said his wife, Sandi Roberson.

The bite had let in Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus – commonly known as MRSA.

"They told me that I had to have surgery, that I could die from this," Roberson said.

MRSA is a common bacteria; one in six people has it on his or her body. However, if MRSA gets in the bloodstream through a cut or an opening, it is extremely resistant to antibiotics and can be fatal, reports the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

"Apparently, there is only one antibiotic that really works well on MRSA," said Roberson's sister, Carrie Bennett, "and it wasn't the one he was on."

Roberson had to undergo surgery to stave off the damage to his body. Doctors cut a 5-inch-long incision to remove infected areas of skin and tissue.

For six days, he had to live in isolation because MRSA is extremely contagious, he said.

He is now recovering, but before the bite he had canceled his medical insurance and now faces debt.

"The premiums just went up to where we couldn't afford them anymore," Sandi Roberson said.

Ideally, he would be recovering with the aid of a machine called a "wound vac" to help close the incision. However, Roberson says that because he doesn't have insurance, he couldn't get the machine.