Jason Miller -- crew member on Alec Baldwin's "Rust" -- is still recovering from a gnarly spider bite he got on set ... but says he's made some great progress in his recovery.
Jason tells TMZ ... he's still dealing with severe pain. As we reported, he was bitten by a venomous brown recluse spider while in NM shooting the film. The bite sent Jason to the hospital, where doctors talked about amputation -- luckily that wasn't necessary.
Jason tells us he's taking huge steps towards recovery ... but there are still challenges. He can't lay down without his shoulder getting inflamed, making it hard to sleep at night.
He also has a problem with range of motion ... unable to raise his arm above his head or reach behind his back, making it pretty difficult to do everyday tasks.
A GoFundMe was created shortly after he was hospitalized -- currently sitting at $14,600. Jason says the money has been a huge weight off his back ... putting $3K towards renting a new home and the rest going to savings ... since it's uncertain when he'll work again.
Jason was able to get worker's comp from the insurance company associated with "Rust" ... something we previously reported was a point of contention.
Of course, Jason's spider bite wasn't the worst thing to come from that set, with the death of Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Halyna's family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit ... with Alec Baldwin, armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed and assistant director David Halls listed as defendants.