A Kansas mother of four is in a desperate fight for survival after what began as a family camping trip turned into a frightening medical emergency involving multiple spider bites.
Britagne Miller, of Goddard, Kansas, says she was attacked by roughly 15 spiders during a visit to Cheney Lake, later developing excruciating blood clots in her legs.
Her condition became even more dangerous because Miller is already living with two rare blood disorders and a damaged liver, making surgery to remove the hematomas far more complicated.
The mother, whose four children are between the ages of nine and 15, was warned by doctors in June that she may have only days left to live. So far, however, she has continued to beat the grim prognosis.
The ordeal started on May 28, when Miller and her family set out for a camping getaway at Cheney State Park, about 35 miles west of Wichita.
Miller told local ABC affiliate KAKE she was relaxing near the campfire when she suddenly felt what seemed like a swarm of spiders moving up her legs and under her shirt.
Admitting she has a deep fear of spiders, Miller said the bites appeared on both sides of her leg after the unsettling encounter.
In the days that followed, her symptoms escalated. Miller said intense pain spread through her right leg, describing the sensation as if she were being stabbed.
Britagne Miller, a mother-of-four from Goddard, Kansas, is fighting for her life after she was bitten by a cluster of spiders while camping with her family close to Cheney Lake
Miller – whose children range in age from nine to 15 – was told by doctors in June that she had just days to live after being bitten by about 15 spiders during a camping trip, but she has so far defied these odds. She is pictured above with her husband, Jake Miller, and their children
She was admitted to Wesley Hospital in Wichita, Kansas on June 4, according to a GoFundMe launched by her husband, Jake Miller.
‘A giant hematoma formed on her right calf from the bite,’ the fundraising page reads.
‘The pain was excruciating, and she required surgery to remove large blood clots and drain the area.
‘Over the following weeks she was often incoherent as her condition worsened.’
The fundraiser explained that Miller is also battling end-stage liver failure, which made surgery ‘far more dangerous’ as ‘doctors warned she could bleed out’.
‘Multiple doctors told us she might have only days to a month to live and recommended hospice after just two weeks in the hospital,’ the GoFundMe reads.
‘Britagne spent 10 days in the MICU, then time in the cardio ICU before being moved to a regular floor. But she refused to give up.
‘She told the doctors she would fight to live as long as she could for her family, and she insisted they do everything possible to save her.’
Doctors have said they do not know which type of spider bit Miller, but they believe it was likely to have been a brown recluse, like the spider pictured above. Brown recluse spiders are less than an inch long in size, with their legs spanning only about the size of a US quarter
Miller, from Goddard, Kansas, developed painful blood clots in her legs after she was swarmed by about 15 arachnids during a vacation to Cheney Lake. She is pictured with one of her sons
Miller is a mother to three sons and a daughter. They are pictured above in an old photograph
Miller was given a plethora of life-saving treatments, including blood transfusions, plasma, platelets, cryoprecipitate, antibiotics, and potassium.
But just as she appeared to be improving, she developed a blood infection along with a bacterial staph infection.
‘The infection caused tissue necrosis around her stitches, and doctors had to perform two bedside procedures to remove dead skin and place her on additional antibiotics,’ the fundraiser reads.
The beleaguered mother has been left needing a liver transplant, but doctors have warned that it could be several months before she is stable enough for the operation.
Her heartbroken husband, Jake Miller, wrote that he has ‘watched her endure more pain than I ever thought a person could survive’ – but ‘somehow, she still finds the strength to fight’.
Jake said he has stayed by his wife’s side throughout the ordeal while also caring for their four children, aged nine, 12, 14, and 15.
‘Because I couldn’t maintain the work schedule my employer required during this medical emergency, I lost my job,’ he wrote on the fundraiser.
During the week that followed the spider bites, Miller said she began suffering from severe pain in her right leg which she said ‘felt like being stabbed’
Miller has three sons and a daughter. She is pictured above with her daughter in an old photo
‘There was never a question about where I needed to be, but losing my income and insurance has put us in a tough spot financially.’
Doctors have said they do not know which type of spider bit Miller, but they believe it was likely to have been a brown recluse.
Brown recluse spiders are less than an inch long in size, with their legs spanning only about the size of a US quarter.
They are one of two venomous spiders native to Kansas, and reactions to their bites can range from mild irritation to prompting dangerous infections.
