A 5-year-old child bitten by a black widow spider is recovering thanks to her parents who refused to give up on their daughter's mystery bruise and fever until they had an answer.
Josh and Kristine Donovan think their daughter Kailyn was bitten by a black widow in their back yard.
“It’s not something you would expect, especially in Massachusetts,” Josh Donovan told WCVB.
Initially the parents thought the mark was was an average bug bite behind her knee until what was a small brusie turned into a larger, dark mark. Kailyn also began to run a fever.
The first doctor they saw said it was a spider bite and gave Kailyn antibiotics, but mom Kristine wasn't satisfied and the girl's parents took her to UMass Memorial Medical Center to see a pediatric infectious-disease doctor.
That's when the family learned the spider bite was from a black widow — a spider among some of the most venomous in North America.
Kristine, who said she was determined to find out exactly what was going on with her daughter, offered some words of wisdom to other parents out there in case their child experiences a similar situation.
“If you think it’s something, just keep looking for an answer,” she told WCVB. “I had a feeling it was pretty bad, and I just kept pushing to have it checked out.”
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