A woman says she was left looking like a Teletubby and is reliant on walking sticks to get around at just 28, after she brushed against some giant hogweed while out walking her dogs.
Student Tina Sabine says she woke up one morning in 2021 and was horrified to discover that she ‘physically couldn't move' and her right hand was covered in painful blisters.
In a blind panic, Tina called her friend who rushed her to Warwick A&E in Warwickshire.
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Tina says her injuries were so bad that medics initially thought someone had poured acid onto her hand.
While at hospital, Tina also caught a glimpse of her face and was shocked to see that it had swollen so badly she now looked like a Teletubby’.
Doctors suspected that Tina was suffering an allergic reaction, but when she was transferred to Birmingham Hospital a consultant said she had come into contact with the toxic plant.
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Tina believes she may have accidentally brushed against some giant hogweed while out walking her pet pooches Mocha and Latte.
With her condition now diagnosed, Tina spent an entire month in hospital where it was two weeks before she could walk again.
Tina had to have her burns dressed daily and she was given pain medication to help her cope.
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She says she'd had such a bad reaction to the plant that it caused a blood clot on her spine and walking became agony.
Even after being released, she was forced to use a mobility scooter for six months.
Now, Tina is forced to use a walking stick to get around and still can't use her right hand.
Tina, from Royal Leamington Spa, West Mids, said: "I went to bed absolutely fine. I woke up and I couldn't physically move. I was in pain, not terrible just annoying pain.
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"I looked at my hand, it blew up and was bright red. It looked like it had been dunked in acid. At the hospital they asked if someone had poured acid on my hand.
"My fingers swelled up, they had to cut off my rings, they're still swollen today.
"I didn't look in the mirror until the hospital and the right side of my face bulged out so much that I looked like a Teletubby.
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"I'd been walking the dogs the day before so I think I must have come into contact with it there and then touched my face.
"It was blistering. I was in a lot of pain."
Claire Reid