A father-of-two who was stung by his pet scorpion has
revealed how he was left paralysed and forced to undergo an emergency operation
in which surgeons removed his entire stomach.
Dean Armstrong, 47, from Cambridge, was feeding Sue the
scorpion in August 2012 when she stung, paralysing him and flooding his body
with potentially fatal poison.
Mr. Armstrong was bitten in the thumb and says within a
minute he had collapsed to the floor where he was discovered by his cleaner who
immediately called an ambulance
After suffering from complications the sting ended up
costing him his stomach and pancreas, which were removed in a life-saving
operation by doctors who told Mr. Armstrong he was lucky to be alive and he
would need a colostomy bag for the rest of his life but Mr. Armstrong says he
prefers to remain positive and the experience with Sue has not put him off
owning exotic pets.
Mr. Armstrong, who dropped Sue after the sting, believes she
must have run under the floorboards as he never saw her again.
He said: 'I think Sue must have scuttled under the
floorboards because she was nowhere to be seen after that, lost forever. I was
worried for my two kids, Roman, 18, and Gretel, 14.'
Mr. Armstrong added: 'When I was stung I felt fear for the
first time. I thought I was going to die.
'But being told I had a colostomy bag didn't bother me. I'm
quite an optimist.
'In hospital I was surrounded by men crying because they had
one. But I was just happy to be alive. I'd been told I could die.
'I just had to get used to my bag. I've had some horrible
incidents where it's leaked but I've just acted silly to get through it.
'I've not been put off from keeping scorpions either, and
about a year ago I got another one.'
Mr. Armstrong said he has found the only real downside of
wearing a colostomy bag is that he gets tired more easily.
He said: 'I wasn't getting nutrients from my food to give me
energy, so there were days when I'd walk in to town and be exhausted. But now
I'm becoming stronger and take supplements.'
Mr. Armstrong with his colostomy bag.
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