It was surrounded by eight babies. With its long spindly legs, it looked like a crab

After a terrible sleep, I raised my head and noticed drops of blood on my pillow. My earache must have been more serious than I thought. In January this year, my husband and I had been trekking in one of South Africa’s national parks. For the last few days of the trip, my ear hadn’t felt right and was extremely itchy, but I had put it down to travel running down my immune system.

We flew home to Singapore. I was hoping the irritation would settle, but after six days I couldn’t ignore the pain any more. That night, as I was about to go to bed, I told my husband that I was going to go to the doctors. He sprang off the sofa, as if a lightbulb had gone off in his head.