An Arizona man and his wife are puzzled by a bite or sting that left clusters of painful bruises on his arm.
Thomas Jay, 41, of Chandler, said it happened earlier this month when he was taking out the garbage.
“I just felt this excruciating pinch, this pressure, this bite or a sting … and [I] immediately went and swatted the bug off,” he told Phoenix’s KTVK.
According to Jay’s wife, Dee Petrov, the wound progressively got worse.
“It started with one little round circle and became an emergency in a matter of hours,” she wrote on a GoFundMe page set up to help cover his medical bills.
Jay reportedly spent several days in the hospital and continues to suffer from itching and loss of strength in his arm.
Petrov said her husband believes the insect he swatted off his arm most resembled a solpugid, or camel spider.
Doctors, meanwhile, aren’t sure what bit Jay. They’re are waiting on the results of a biopsy.
His wife has been sharing photos of his progress on social media, in hopes their story might help others.
“I hope to give an overall story at some point with pictures to help anyone who this may happen to in the future … to be prepared,” Petrov wrote on Facebook. “We just don’t know that much about venom and how anyone will react.”
Tips? Feedback? Send David Lohr an email or follow him on Twitter.
