Stokesdale woman loses arms, legs after illness

STOKESDALE, N.C. (WGHP) — When Cassandra Marshall felt extremely sick, she immediately rushed to urgent care.

“I went to urgent care, they thought I had appendicitis, sent us to a hospital, they said I had the flu and sent me home,” she says.

But it wasn’t the flu. The next morning, she couldn’t breathe. Her husband Justin called 911 and Marshall was rushed to the hospital where her lung collapsed. She was then flown to Duke Hospital.

“The next few hours, they called, said she had passed away twice, they brought her back,” her husband says.

Marshall had Strep A, a bacterial infection that led to sepsis, or blood poisoning.

When her husband arrived at Duke Hospital to be by her side, he was shocked that Marshall was attached to an ECMO machine, a form of life support that works for the heart and lungs. The device can save lives, but it also comes with some risks, including limb loss.

“It took all four,” she says.

She shared a photo with FOX8’s Cassie Fambro of her darkened lower leg, deprived of blood flow.

“They took my legs first, and then when I went in for my arms, we had… I coded on the table, on the operating table, so they brought me back and had to cancel the surgery.”

Two days later, she was healthy enough for surgery. Doctors removed both of her lower arms midway down.

“I actually took losing my legs easier than losing my arms.”

The mother of four would never again be able to wrap her arms around her children. She would never be able to reach down to pick them up.

“I feel so guilty for not being able to help.”

Marshall’s journey forward feels daunting. She was denied for disability, and the family has turned to crowdfunding, friends and family for help revamping their home and taking care of the kids.

Despite this, it’s those little ones that keep her going.

“I wanna be there… I missed my eldest’s graduation, and that hurt, but my kids are my motivation.”

She says she appreciates every single second.

“I never thought I would wake up and be on my death bed the next day.”

She is able to move around thanks to a special wheelchair, and she’s learning how to use prosthetics.

“It’s going to take a long time. They told me six months to a year,” she says.

In the meantime, the family vows to celebrate every small victory.

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