Quadruple amputee shows off new ‘sparkly pink legs’ after surgery went horribly wrong
Lucinda Mullins, 41, from Kentucky, lost both her legs and arms after a routine kidney stone surgery went wrong in January. The mum-of-two recently showed off her new limbs
A quadruple amputee nurse has shown off her new ‘sparkly pink legs’ just months after surgery changed her life forever.
Lucinda Mullins lost both her legs and arms after a routine kidney stone surgery went tragically wrong in January. The mother-of-two from Kentucky, US, became septic after the stone she needed removing ended up getting infected.
She was rushed to a hospital in Fort Logan, Stanford, before being transferred to a University of Kentucky hospital in Lexington where she was heavily sedated. When she woke up, both of her legs were gone.
Now the 41-year-old has heralded a ‘big day’ in her life as she showed off her new prosthetic arm and legs.
A photo posted to her GoFundMe page shows her smiling while wearing a black prosthetic on her right arm for the first time. In a second photo she can be seen grabbing a pamphlet at an orthopaedics office.
And on the same say she was also photographed while doctors helped her walk with her new prosthetic legs. Alongside the pic she wrote: “I never thought I would be so happy to have pink sparkly legs.”
Mullins has been training herself to use prosthetics since the beginning of March.
In a post on March 8, her husband DJ wrote: “As if she wasn’t strong enough, she’s about to get stronger. We just checked in to Cardinal Hill for a couple weeks of intense therapy to prepare her for the prosthetic journey she is about to begin.”
Mullins initially sought medical treatment for kidney stones, which are solid masses composed of salt and minerals that develop within the body.
After the surgery, a temporary stent was placed in her body by the doctor in order to avoid any potential blockage. Upon removing the stent at home as directed, Mullins began to feel unwell and fainted.
Doctors soon discovered that an unremoved kidney stone had become infected, and Mullins was told that she had gone into septic shock, with her organs beginning to shut down.
Despite her organ function improving, blisters broke out across her limbs, and when she came to doctors informed her she would survive the infection, but lose her hands and legs.
Speaking to LEX 18, Mullins said: “I’ve lost both my arms and legs, bilaterally. This is what’s happening…These are the cards I’ve been dealt, and this is the hand I’m going to play.
“I’m still happy to be alive…I get to see my kids, my family, so [the amputation] is a minor thing at this point.”
Kidney stone surgery can cause infection, blood loss during the procedure, injury to other parts of the body and the stones not breaking down, although what happened to Mullins was in her own words: “Quite rare, a perfect storm.”
Mullins has said that she is determined to go back to work when’s she at as a certified medical assistant when she’s ready.
A GoFundMe page that has already raised over $333,000 (£262k) was set up to help Mullins with medical bills while the nurse prepares for rehab, physical therapy and prosthetics.
Mullins’ friend, Heather Beshears, who set up the crowdfunding page, wrote: “Cindy, as most of her friends call her, is a lovely, caring, brave and beautiful young lady who has recently experienced a life-changing tragedy that will leave her as a quadruple amputee.