Kentucky native Lucinda Mullins expected a simple procedure when she checked into the hospital in December 2023. She went in for a routine kidney stone operation.
Nothing suggested danger at first. The 43-year-old mother went under anesthesia, thinking she would be back home in Waynesburg in no time at all.
The standard procedure took a violent turn behind closed doors.
An unexpected infection triggered septic shock without warning. Her immune system launched into overdrive, attacking and damaging her vital tissues and organs.
Her husband DJ waited as hours turned into days. Medical staff gave him a grim update while her body fought an uphill battle to stay alive.
He recalled the alarming warning from doctors. “They said she was on the edge of a cliff and it was about to get worse.”
Seven days passed without a single sign of life.
“A whole week passed and she wasn’t moving, wasn’t talking, wasn’t responding,” DJ said of the terrifying silence in the hospital room.
Machines supported her failing heart and lungs. Staff moved her on a ventilator to UK Hospital in Lexington to fight for her survival.
Surgeons faced one devastating choice to keep her breathing.
Doctors had no alternative but to amputate both legs, along with her hands and forearms, so her life could be saved from the spreading infection. When Lucinda woke, she looked at the surgical team and asked for the unfiltered reality of what had happened to her body.
“I said, shoot it to me straight. I want to know it all. He explained what they had to do to save my life, that I was going to have surgery the next day to lose my legs.”
A stunned silence filled the room after her reply.
“Surprisingly, I wasn’t upset, I didn’t question it. I wasn’t angry,” she later revealed when recalling the devastating news.
“I know there will be hard times ahead, but just knowing I could see my kids again and that I had the support of my family, I think that gave me peace to be okay with it.”
She felt an overwhelming sense of calm. “And I was at peace. I was okay with it. There was just this presence of God around me that told me this is all going to be okay.”
Gratitude quickly replaced the grief everyone expected.
“I was alive, and I got to see my family again and my friends. And if that was a sacrifice that I had to make, you know, I was fine with it,” she said.
“That was the only way to save my life, and I never questioned it. I just felt that God chose me for this to happen and he was going to use me in a big way. We’re not done with our story yet.”
A devoted family rallied together back home in Waynesburg.
Her sons Teegan and Easton stood by her side. Easton quickly took on an active role to help his mother navigate daily life.
“Easton’s more of a mama’s boy. He doesn’t leave her side,” DJ explained, noting how closely the younger boy stayed with her.
“He helps feed her, brushes her hair, he’s got to sleep right beside her. He’s keeping a close eye on her for sure,” her husband said.
The household found strength together. “The older one, he’s had a lot of questions, of course, which we all have. But he’s done well with it.”
Support poured in from across the entire community.
A GoFundMe campaign raised funds in ten days to build an accessible 7,000 square foot smart home tailored for her recovery.
Outside the house, she set a firm goal to return to work as a certified medical assistant at Bates, Miller & Sims to help patients. Advocacy became another major focus as she helped pass Senate Bill 97 to assist fellow amputees across the state of Kentucky.
She turned personal loss into a lasting victory for others.
“This will give people with private insurance an opportunity to have more than one prosthetic device,” she explained with gratitude.
Ultimately, she refused to let loss define her future. “This has a happy ending. I’m alive. I get to be with my children and my husband.”
