The Kentucky nurse who lost all of her limbs after suffering septic shock is gradually relearning how to walk while wearing prosthetics for the first time.
A series of photos shared on GoFundMe on Wednesday show Lucinda ‘Cindy’ Mullins, 41, closing her eyes and clenching her jaw as she balances on artificial legs.
The update was posted by Heather Beshears, a close friend who organized the fundraiser on behalf of Mullins’ family.
‘Moving in the right direction. One happy girl,” Beshears captioned the photos. ‘These are training legs. They’ll introduce her knees when she’s ready.’
Mullins’ husband, DJ, reported on March 8 that his wife was beginning intensive therapy as she took on the arduous task of learning to walk again.
Lucinda ‘Cindy’ Mullins, 41, is relearning how to walk with prosthetics after losing all her limbs earlier this year.
Updates posted on GoFundMe show Mullins clenching his jaw and closing his eyes as he begins the final task on his road to recovery.
The Kentucky mother of two suffered a quadruple amputation after treatment for kidney stones. When an unpassed kidney stone became infected, she went into septic shock.
According to her husband, Mullins was admitted to Cardinal Hill Rehabilitation Hospital in early March.
“As if he wasn’t strong enough, he’s about to get stronger,” DJ wrote.
“We just checked into Cardinal Hill for a couple of weeks of intense therapy to prepare her for the prosthetic journey that is about to begin.”
Mullins’ loved ones have been providing a steady stream of updates, including photos shared in late February that showed her beaming alongside her teenage son in their high school gym, dressed head-to-toe in spiritual clothing.
“Someone has been feeling better the last few days,” DJ wrote at the time. ‘All those prayers are still being answered!’
Mullins lost both legs and arms when she was hospitalized in January. She originally began receiving treatment for kidney stones, which are hard balls of salt and minerals that form inside the body.
The doctor left a temporary stent in his body after surgery to prevent blockage. When she removed the stent at home, as instructed, the mother of two began to feel unwell and she lost consciousness.
She was rushed to a local hospital, where doctors discovered that an unremoved kidney stone had become infected.
Mullins was told he had suffered septic shock and his organs were beginning to fail. Doctors stabilized her and placed her on a ventilator before she was transported to a larger hospital in Lexington.
While his organ function began to improve after days of treatment, blisters broke out on his limbs and he was told they would have to be amputated to save his life.
His condition has been improving and he even appeared at a high school pep rally with his teenage son. Mullins smiled alongside her eldest son and her husband, DJ, in the February update.
The certified medical assistant underwent a series of amputations that ended with the removal of her forearms in February.
After hours of physical therapy sessions, Mullins regained her ability to eat on her own and learned to sit upright on her own.
Over the next few days, as his organ function began to improve, blisters broke out on his extremities.
When he regained consciousness, doctors told Mullins he would survive the infection, at the cost of his hands and legs.
He underwent a series of amputations that ended with the removal of his forearms in February.
Speaking to DailyMail.com in February, Mullins said she relied on the comfort of knowing her family would be with her every step of the way.
‘Surprisingly, I wasn’t upset, I didn’t question it. “I wasn’t angry,” Mullins said.
“I know there will be tough times coming, but just knowing that I would be able to see my kids again and that I had the support of my family, I think that gave me peace to be okay with this.”
After hours of grueling physical therapy sessions, Mullins regained her ability to eat on her own using a specially adapted fork attached to her arm.
She also learned to sit on her own and scroll through her phone with her nose.
There are changes that the whole family must get used to. Every morning, DJ must bandage and dress his wife’s wounds to keep them clean and airtight.
But the 41-year-old says she is hopeful and determined to return to her job as a certified medical assistant at Bates, Miller & Sims, a local family practice.
Mullins says she is determined to return to her job at Bates, Miller & Sims, a local family practice based in Stanford.
The Kentucky woman’s loved ones and close friends have been providing a steady stream of updates to a GoFundMe page, which has become a recovery diary of sorts.
Mullins says her situation is not a “sad story” as she can be with her children and husband.
The GoFundMe Campaign has become a diary documenting Mullins’ recovery.
“Cindy and her family will have 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 costs of all this can be overwhelming. We started this fundraiser because we want to support our hero Cindy, as well as her DJ husband, who has been by her side every step of the way.’
The campaign has raised more than $300,000 so far, but has not yet reached its goal of $350,000.
“I just want people to know that this is not a sad story,” Mullins said.
‘This has a happy ending. I am alive. I can be with my children and my husband.’