Wounded in International Warfare

Last Thursday morning, I was drying off from the shower and found two large blisters on the back of my upper right arm. I had slept with a heating pad the night before (bad idea, I know) to help my back and thought at first the blisters were burns from the unprotected pad. These blisters continued growing until Friday morning when they popped in the shower (I just love my shower time). Unlike other blisters I have "enjoyed," these popped blisters didn't heal quickly, but instead continued to play host to severe pain for several days. Odd, but I preferred to think of the blisters as a burn than something more significant.

Sunday morning, however, a two inch red oval on my left arm led me to believe my previous blisters were not a burn. Saturday, I had volunteered at the HRC dinner and thought the sunscreen must have missed that spot. In the course of an hour from first noticing the red oval, most of the center turned white, leaving a red ring. Cool, I thought as maybe it would just go away. I do not like sunburns, even if they are only a two inch oval.

After another hour, a small bump formed, then a small blister. An hour later, the blister had doubled in size. For the next few hours, I watched in horror as the blister grew to a size larger than anything I had experienced on my feet while hiking. The size and appearance of the blister changed so rapidly that I was reminded of the movie, Alien, where the creature popped out of the guy's stomach. I didn't know what was inside, but I didn't want it popping out.

In the course of eight hours, the red oval had grown into a huge blister, nearly the full two inches of the red oval. Pain started in my arms and I started feeling quite dizzy. It concerned me, but since I didn't know what it was, I thought it best to simply ignore it and hope it would go away (bad idea, I know). It didn't.

After waking on Monday to find my "growth" had not gone away as hoped and finding my popped blisters hurting more than ever with red infection signs, I went to the doctor. Unfortunately, my doctor was not available and the receptionist of "Urgent Care" didn't find my condition to be anything worth bothering the doctor about (don't get me started on how upset I was at waiting for hours only to be told the doctor had gone to lunch). So, I returned on Tuesday to see my doctor, having to wait only five minutes.

While draining the blister and wrapping me up, Dr. Coy (awesome guy, but get your own doctor. He's mine and I don't share well.) suggested it was probably a spider bite, but not a regular issue house spider. Ends up, I was bitten by a Chilean Recluse spider (see picture above). It is a cousin to the ever popular Brown Recluse spider, but comes with an international pedigree. Not sure if I should be honored or offended that a critter came all the way up from South America to insult me three times.

The Chilean Recluse is hard to catch because it doesn't spin webs to trap food. It is a hunter. It actively pursues prey, leaving no trace of where it has been. I tore the bed apart, but didn't find any sign of my international visitor. They are known to leap and catch flies and other mobile food sources while simply outrunning their victims on the ground. Many web sites do not list Utah as a place for the Chilean Recluse, but admit they like to travel (don't we all?). Since I hate to think of such an evil predator in my house, I'm asking for help in tracking and killing the creature. REWARD: I'll be happier than punch to buy the successful captor a shake of their choosing at Arctic Circle. Interested? While I know the lure of a shake will probably lead you all immediately to my doorstep, I caution you to remember this is not just any standard-issue battle, but an international war.