Olivia Burke
The family of a mother-of-two who woke up from a routine operation to find all her limbs had been amputated have shared an update on her condition.
Lucinda 'Cindy' Mullins had gone into hospital to get a kidney stone removed a few weeks ago, but it became infected and septic - and ending up resulting in her losing both of her legs and both of her arms below her elbows.
She was first taken to Fort Logan Hospital in Stanford, Kentucky, and then to the University of Kentucky hospital in Lexington in an ambulance to remove the stone from her body, in what she described as a 'perfect storm'.
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The 41-year-old nurse was then sedated for a number of days and later received the devastating news that her limbs needed to be amputated when she awoke.
Despite the shock, Lucinda was simply grateful to be alive, telling LEX 18: "I just said these are the cards I've been dealt and these are the hands I'm going to play."
"I'm just so happy to be alive," she added. "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."
The mum has already undergone multiple surgeries and has a few more to go - while also preparing for the prospect of prosthetics, physical therapy and the gruelling recovery that follows.
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The community has already rallied around her, with her sister Luci Smith thanking people for their 'support, love, prayers, cards, food and visits' - describing how 40 of her loved ones crammed into the hospital's waiting room at one point.
Donations have also been pouring into a GoFundMe page that was set up by a family friend to help Lucinda with the costs of her recovery, medical bills and adjustments she will now need to make to her home.
The fundraiser is well on it's way to its $250,000 (£196,200) target and has already racked up $164,618 (£130,408) just two weeks after it was launched to support the 'lovely, caring, brave and beautiful young lady’.
The GoFundMe states: "The costs of all of 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.
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“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."
Lucinda's relatives have been updating contributors as much as they can about her condition and have now shared another update on her health.
An earlier post had explained that the mum would be moving to the Cardinal Hill Rehabilitation Hospital in Lexington for 'a couple weeks' before she would return to the University of Kentucky hospital for what is 'hopefully her final surgery'.
The latest update shared on GoFundMe, accompanied by a picture of Lucinda grinning alongside her husband DJ, was shared today (2 January).
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It read: "Cindy’s finally arrived at Cardinal Hill, thank goodness! Let's all pray for her strength and hope that the next two weeks go smoothly."
We're all rooting for you, Lucinda! If you'd like to donate to the GoFundMe, click here.