Doctors amputate woman's after spider bite gives her 'flesh eating infection'

A young woman, Chey Alvarez woke from a coma to discover her leg had been amputated after a spider bite became infected with a flesh-eating bug. She was left fighting for her life as doctors battled to stop the rapidly spreading infection.

The 21-year-old was at her home in Surrey, Canada, last month when she was bitten on her right ankle by what is believed to be a brown recluse spider.

Two days later she contracted the rare condition necrotizing fasciitis, a rare but serious bacterial infection also known as 'flesh eating disease'.

She was put on life support and in an induced coma during which time medics were forced to remove her right leg below the knee.

Chey knew something was wrong when she came out of her coma, her mother said.

Too weak to talk, she asked for a pen so she could write out a question.

Her mother struggled to decipher her handwriting, before eventually making out the words, 'Am I missing foot?' Mrs Alvarez Licona told Global News.

The bug had also attacked other parts of her body – her arms, her inner leg and her hip area.

Necrotizing fasciitis is an infection caused by bacteria. It can destroy skin, fat, and the tissue covering the muscles within a very short time.
It can lead to organ failure and death.