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A mom-of-two woke up at a Kentucky hospital with both legs amputated – and learned she’d soon lose her arms too – in a “perfect storm” that began with a kidney stone, according to a new report.
Lucinda “Cindy” Mullins, 41, a long-time nurse, underwent treatment for a kidney stone just weeks ago, WLEX reported.
But Mullins’ medical story didn’t end there — her stone soon got infected, and she became septic.
“Quite rare,” Mullins told the network of the life-altering turn of events. “It was a perfect storm – over a kidney stone.”
She was rushed from Fort Logan Hospital in Stanford to U.K. Hospital in Lexington – where she was sedated for days, the outlet reported.
When she woke up, her legs were gone from the knees down – and doctors explained that in order to save her life, her arms would have to go, too.
“I’ve lost my legs from the knees down bilaterally and I’m going to lose my arms probably below the elbow bilaterally,” Mullins said. “The doctor I used to work with, he kind of was like, ‘this is what they had to do to save your life, this is what’s happened.'”
But Mullins took the shocking medical news in stride – emphasizing that this outcome now allows her the chance to spend more time with her husband DJ and young sons.
“I’m just so happy to be alive,” she said. “I get to see my kids. I get to see my family. I get to have my time with my husband. Those are minor things at this point.”
“I just said, ‘These are the cards I’ve been dealt and these are the hands I’m going to play,'” she added.
As word of her condition began to spread, Mullins has received a flood of support.
“At one time I think they told [me] 40 people were in the waiting room here,” she told the station. “The calls and the texts, the prayers and the things people have sent. The little words of encouragement.”
“I just can’t fathom that people are doing things like that for me.”
By Sunday afternoon, a GoFundMe page for Mullins’ family had raised nearly $105,000 of its $250,000 goal.
“We started this fundraiser because we want to support our hero Cindy, as well as her husband DJ who has been by her side every step of the way,” loved ones wrote on the page.
“Cindy and DJ have two young children who are missing their mom and dad terribly. Sometimes life is hard and there’s no way around it. Cindy and DJ’s world has come to a complete stop, but the world around them continues to move forward.”
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