A Disney fan feared she might die when she suffered a severe allergic reaction after getting a Little Mermaid tattoo.
Heather Godfrey, 25, had the design inked into her leg in memory of her late grandfather who she had frequently watched the film with as a child.
But within 24 hours the self-proclaimed tattoo addict started feeling unwell before her leg ‘ballooned’ and her skin broke out in hives which ‘burst open.’
She continued to suffer for more than two weeks with doctors baffled over what could be causing her to react in such a way.
One medic even feared Heather, from Ashford, Kent, may have developed Sepsis which could have killed her.
Eventually the symptoms started to subside thanks to antibiotics and Heather now suspects a numbing spray could have been to blame.
She said: ‘Within 24 hours of having the tattoo done, I started to have quite a high temperature, and just generally felt really unwell.
‘The morning after that, I looked at the tattoo and it had become very red and tender, hot and swollen. It quite dramatically went bad.
‘Then as the days went by, the tattoo broke out in hives that were bursting open.
‘It was really painful, I couldn’t walk on that leg. I went to the hospital on the third day, where I got my first round of antibiotics. But they just didn’t work – my infection got worse and worse.
‘I went back four more times over the next two weeks. I ended up having to take time off work, as I could barely do anything due to the pain.
‘At one point, I had about four health professionals all looking at my leg. They hadn’t seen anything like that, so it was a bit of a learning curve for everyone.
‘It was really scary because at one point, sepsis was mentioned, and they were talking about putting me on an IV.
‘Once they mentioned sepsis, I knew how serious the situation was. It really hit home. I was fearing for my life.’
Heather admits she and her fiancée, Grant, were scared she might never recover.
The infection ‘felt like it was bursting’ out of her skin and nothing seemed to be working until she saw an out-of-hours GP who gave her really strong antibiotics which began to make a difference within a few days.
She paid £250 for the design – which shows mermaid Ariel with Flounder and Sebastian – and trusted that the artist had taken all the right precautions.
The tattoo remains scarred and damaged but the studio has offered to touch it up for free and she’ll be going back under the needle in September.
Heather hasn’t been put off from getting yet more tattoos but will avoid the numbing spray in future as she’s still not sure what’s in it that caused her to react so badly.
‘I was in touch with the tattoo artist all the way through. She was really supportive, and she was upset about what had happened,’ Heather said.
‘She was always asking for updates and giving me advice. She has offered to touch up the tattoo with no cost, which I’m going to be having done in September.
‘The tattoo has come out a lot better than I thought it would, but it’s very patchy. It has left scarring on my leg around the tattoo.
‘It’s not sore anymore, but the skin around the tattoo is still a bit red. It doesn’t look great if I’m honest, the tattoo looks very old.
‘The Little Mermaid is something I watched growing up with my grandfather. He passed away from cancer when I was 11, so it’s a special memory I have of the film…When I look at the tattoo now, it’s just a reminder of how much pain I was in.’
The traumatic experience has not put off Heather, who is a self-admitted ‘tattoo enthusiast and addict’ – with more than 35 tattoos on her body.
Heather, who got her first tattoo when she turned 18, shared her ordeal on TikTok to show the grisly effects of the infection in a bid to raise awareness about the potential risks of getting inked.
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