After getting a tattoo from an artist she found on social media, Stephanie Roberts said she was hospitalized and needed two surgeries due to complications.
PHOENIX — What was supposed to be a meaningful tattoo of the Virgin Mary nearly turned deadly for an Arizona woman who says she developed severe complications after getting a tattoo from an artist she found on social media.
Stephanie Roberts said she chose the tattoo artist after seeing her work online. But days after receiving a tattoo stretching from her wrist to her elbow, Roberts said she began experiencing alarming symptoms that eventually sent her to the hospital for a week and led to two surgeries.
“This was my first time getting a tattoo with an artist I found on Instagram,” Roberts, who has many other tattoos, said.
She believed the artist worked out of a professional studio but quickly realized otherwise upon arrival.
“I was told it was a studio,” Roberts said. “So, I walked, I get out of the car, I go up to her, I introduce her. I’m nice, you know? I’m like, ‘hi, like, I thought you were in a studio.’ And she was like, ‘Yeah, my dad made me a studio back here in a shipping container.’”
Despite concerns, Roberts said she moved forward with the appointment because she had paid a $200 deposit and was impressed by the artist’s portfolio.
Shortly after the tattoo session, Roberts said her condition rapidly deteriorated.
“I think my arm was burned by the end of it, because it was super red,” she said. “It felt like a third-degree burn.”
Days later, she said the tattoo blistered and swelling intensified.
“I had the chills, I had fever. I was throwing up,” Roberts said. “This was swelling so bad. It was super red. I just did not feel like myself.”
Roberts eventually admitted herself to the hospital after her symptoms worsened.
“As soon as my hand started turning purple and compartment syndrome started kicking in, my fascia of my muscles started to get so swollen that it cut off the circulation in my hand,” she said.
Doctors told Roberts she was suffering from compartment syndrome, cellulitis and sepsis, a potentially life-threatening response to infection.
Dr. Frank Lovecchio, an emergency physician at Valley Wise Health in Phoenix, Arizona, said it is a dangerous situation that could lead to permanent damage.
“This is the body’s overwhelming and potentially deadly response to the infection,” he said.
While hospitalized, Roberts said she also learned she was pregnant.
“My hospital ER doctor came in, and he was like, ‘So you did test positive for pregnancy,’” Roberts recalled. “And I was like, ‘No way.’”
She said the moment was overshadowed by the trauma of her medical emergency.
“That should have been special, you know, and it wasn’t,” Roberts said. “I’m, like, trying to stay positive about it, but like, this whole situation has been, like, really bad.”
Roberts said she has remained in contact with the tattoo artist and is seeking a refund for the $1,200 tattoo.
She said she will continue taking antibiotics and attending follow-up medical appointments in the coming weeks as she recovers.
An attorney representing the tattoo artist declined to comment but said additional details may be released later.