A Kentucky mother of two who lost all four of her limbs is in good spirits and recently showed off her new prosthetic arms and legs.
Cindy Mullins, a nurse, had her arms and legs amputated in January after a kidney stone infection left them septic.
Months after the surgery that changed her life forever, Mullins, 41, called last Friday “a big day” in her life because of her new prototype arm.
In a photo posted on her GoFundMe page, which has now raised more than $333,000, she is seen smiling while wearing a black prosthetic on her right arm for the first time. A second photo shows her grabbing a pamphlet at an orthopedic office.
On the same day she was also fitted with new legs. In one photo, doctors help her walk with the prosthetics.
“I never thought I would be so happy with pink, sparkly legs,” she wrote.
Cindy Mullins, who had all four limbs amputated due to a kidney stone infection, is seen with her prosthetic arm five months after her first surgery
“I never thought I would be so happy with pink, sparkly legs,” Mullins wrote on her GoFundMe
Mullins, 41, is undergoing physical therapy with her new prosthetic leg
Mullins has been preparing a training course in the use of prosthetics since the beginning of March.
“As if she wasn’t strong enough, she’s about to get stronger. We just checked into Cardinal Hill for a few weeks of intensive therapy to prepare her for the prosthetic journey she is about to embark on,” her husband DJ wrote in a March 8 post.
Mullins was originally treated for kidney stones, which are hard balls of salt and minerals that form in the body.
The doctor left a temporary stent in her body after the operation to prevent blockage. While removing the stent at home as instructed, the mother of two began feeling ill and fainted.
She was rushed to a local hospital, where doctors discovered that an unremoved kidney stone had become infected.
“I just want people to know this is not a sad story,” Mullins told DailyMail.com. This has a happy ending. I am alive. I get to be with my children and my husband’
Mullins, pictured next to her son at a school event while recovering from a quadruple amputation
Mullins lost both her legs and arms when an infected kidney stone led to sepsis and doctors were forced to amputate her limbs to save her life
Mullins was told she had gone into septic shock and her organs were starting to shut down. She was stabilized and placed on a ventilator before being taken to a larger hospital in Lexington, Kentucky.
Over the next few days, her organ function improved, but blisters soon broke out across her extremities. When she regained consciousness, doctors told her she would survive the infection – at the cost of her hands and legs.
She underwent a series of amputations, ending with the removal of her forearms in February.
“I just want people to know that this is not a sad story,” Mullins told DailyMail.com in early February. ‘This has a happy ending. I am alive. I get to be with my children and my husband.’
After hours of grueling physical therapy sessions, Mullins regained her ability to eat on her own with the help of a specially adapted fork strapped to her arm.
She also learned to sit up straight and scroll with her nose on her phone.
The 41-year-old has learned to sit upright and eat with a special fork after hours of grueling physiotherapy
A GoFundMe campaign has raised more than $333,000 to cover the costs of prosthetics and home modifications. The page also serves as an online diary documenting Mullins’ recovery
Mullins began training himself to use prosthetic arms and legs in early March
Still, her husband DJ and her two sons have had to adjust in the months since Mullins’ quadruple amputation.
Every morning DJ has to dress and wrap his wife’s wounds to keep them clean and waterproof.
The 41-year-old mother has said she is determined to return to work when she is ready as a certified medical assistant.
The GoFundMe campaign was organized by close friend Heather Beshears and has grown into a diary documenting Mullins’ recovery.
“Cindy and her family will need to make some adjustments to their home to accommodate Cindy’s needs, as well as her prosthetics and adaptive equipment,” Beshears wrote on the page.
“The cost of all this can be overwhelming. 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.”