Wasp attack leaves mother fighting for life

A mother of two needed two shots of adrenaline to resuscitate her after being stung 17 times by a swarm of wasps in her home as her children watched on in terror.

Anna Berggruen Tetiuk was enjoying the fine weather with a friend last Saturday outside her Mallow home when the wasps, whose nest she had discovered the previous Wednesday, attacked her.

During the attack, Anna, who is allergic to wasp stings, suffered 17 stings to her body, including seven to her face and head.

Speaking to the Cork Independent, Anna says she doesn’t really remember anything after the attack and that if her friend hadn’t been there to call the emergency services, she probably would have died.

“That was the worst day of my life. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't move. I got two shots of adrenaline to bring me back to life,” she said.

On arrival, the emergency services began to resuscitate Anna and she was immediately brought to the Mercy University Hospital in Cork city.

Two fire brigades remained at the scene to attempt to kill any wasps that had entered the house.

Still weak and badly swollen, Anna was discharged from hospital the following day and returned home to find wasps “everywhere” outside the house.

She said the fire brigade had left behind a contact number for an exterminator who she called and booked an appointment with the following day.

Anna, who lives in social housing in Gooldshill in Mallow, says she contacted Cork County Council on 21 July, the day she had first discovered the wasps’ nest near her bathroom windowsill.

“I was painting my house. I told them, ‘I need your help, send someone to kill them. I am a single mum with two little girls, so if anything happened to me with the wasps, I will probably die’,” she said.

Anna says she is now very angry with the council for not acting to assist her, resulting in an extremely traumatic experience for her and her young children who are 11 and 13.

“I am very angry that my kids were in this situation, where they must see their mother on the ground being resuscitated,” she said.

Cork County Council contacted the Cork Independent with a statement.

“Council and tenant responsibilities are set out in the Cork County Council Tenants Handbook, which is made available to the occupants of council dwellings at the commencement of each tenancy. It is a tenants responsibility to deal with rats or mice or other pests in their dwelling or garden. Tenants are advised to contact a reputable pest control company, if such a situation arises.”