Carly Anderson, from Eltham, south-east London, needs a transplant as her kidneys failed earlier this year after the insect bit her on her inner thigh – while she was sunbathing
A diabetic mother-of-three is desperate for an organ transplant after her kidneys shut down following a spider bite.
Carly Anderson, from Eltham, south-east London, needs a transplant as her kidneys failed earlier this year after the insect bit her on her inner thigh while she was sunbathing.
The poisonous spider was not the cause of her kidney failure, but she said it was the antibiotics she was given to treat the bite, which made her condition worse.
After years of medical problems, the 36-year-old was then bitten by what she believes was a false widow spider on the thigh in August.
The subsequent medication used to flush the spider poison from her bloodstream, along with her diabetes, caused her kidneys to shut down, and now she is in dire need of help.
She was diagnosed with diabetes aged 13, suffered two heart attacks, and was told in February last year she also had chronic artery disease and heart failure.
Ms Anderson said: ‘My kidneys became unwell because of the dye they used for the heart, the dye that was used for the angiogram.
The poisonous spider was not the cause of her kidney failure, but she said it was the antibiotics she was given to treat the bite, which made her condition worse
‘It was weakening my kidneys further and further. I was admitted to Guy’s Hospital by London Bridge. I have been there for about a year and half.
‘They kept saying Carly, your kidneys are failing. They said you won’t feel anything, they will just go.
‘I didn’t think anything of that. I thought I will be alright, I am a fighter.’
But in September Ms Anderson was told she would need a transplant and that the spider bite medication ‘killed’ her kidneys.
The medication used to flush the spider poison from her bloodstream, along with her diabetes, caused her kidneys to shut down, and now she is in dire need of help
The mother-of-three added: ‘I thought it was the heat burning me. But it was a spider biting me.
‘In September, I went to the kidney clinic and they told me I needed a transplant.
‘They told me my kidneys were dead – whatever medication you have had when that spider bit you killed your kidneys.
‘They still didn’t know what spider it was. I presume it was a false widow or something like that.’
Ms Anderson desperately needs to find a kidney otherwise she might not see Christmas.
She lives with her three daughters – Ellie, 14, six-year-old Jessica and Billie, four – and boyfriend Ryan Rice, 32, who cares for her full time.
Ms Anderson said: ‘They said if you don’t get a kidney you will die. They haven’t given me any timespan, just that if I don’t find one I won’t go.
‘My children are just in bits. My eldest daughter cries all the time. They think I am going to die.
‘My youngest ones don’t really understand about it very much. But my eldest daughter, she is constantly crying.
Ms Anderson said: ‘They said if you don’t get a kidney you will die. They haven’t given me any timespan, just that if I don’t find one I won’t go.’ Pictured: The letter she received from medics
‘I try and assure her that I am okay. She is in bits, and so is my boyfriend. I believe that if I am doing an appeal I will find one.
‘It would mean the absolute world to me. It would make my Christmas. I would love that person that comes forward to give me the kidney.
‘It would mean the world to me. It would be the best Christmas present anyone could give me, for me to be well again.’