Spider Bite Victim Facing Partial Amputations

A 39-year-old woman faces partial amputation of her arms and legs after a bite from a tiny, poisonous spider she had not even felt.

Valerie Slimp of Mira Loma suffered a rare reaction to the bite of a brown recluse spider, also called a violin spider, about a month ago, doctors said.

Her husband, Randy Slimp, said doctors told him that parts of her limbs must be amputated to remove tissue destroyed by blood clots and prevent further infection.

“We’re not sure when this will happen or how much it will be,” Slimp said.

His wife was in critical but stable condition Wednesday after undergoing exploratory surgery at the San Bernardino County Medical Center earlier this week, a nursing supervisor said.

Slimp, the mother of an 8-year-old son and an 11-year-old daughter, apparently was bitten in early July as the family packed to move into a new house, her husband said.

She did not feel the bite, he said. But the next day her thigh became sore, swollen and discolored. Her husband drove her to the local hospital after she started vomiting three days later.