A mother-of-four who initially dismissed a New Year's Day sniffle as a bout of flu has revealed the horrifying moment she woke up in hospital to find she had lost all four of her limbs. Cassandra Marshall, 35, fell ill at the end of 2023, but her condition rapidly deteriorated into a life-threatening case of septic shock.
From Flu to Fight for Life
Septic shock is the final and most severe stage of sepsis, occurring when the body's immune system mounts an extreme overreaction to an infection. This can trigger multiple organ failure and cause blood pressure to plummet to dangerously low levels. For Marshall, what began as flu symptoms swiftly escalated into a medical nightmare.
Her husband was forced to call emergency services when she awoke unable to breathe. She was airlifted to a hospital in North Carolina, where she had to be resuscitated twice before being placed on life support. Doctors later identified that the septic shock was caused by a combination of strep and flu infections.
The Road to Quadruple Amputation
To save her life, Marshall was connected to an ECMO machine, which took over her respiratory function. While the treatment was successful, it came at a devastating cost: she lost the blood supply to all four of her limbs. Medical staff had no choice but to perform a quadruple amputation.
In an interview last year with local broadcaster WGHP, Marshall recalled that her legs were amputated first. She then suffered a major medical emergency – she 'coded' – before surgeons could operate on her arms. A few days later, once she was stronger, the lower half of both her arms was removed.
Marshall told the station that losing her legs was somehow easier, as the profound grief of not being able to hold her children overshadowed everything. 'I wanna be there… I missed my eldest’s graduation, and that hurt, but my kids are my motivation,' she explained.
Adapting to a New Reality
Two years on, Marshall is adapting to her new life. She has learned to use a prosthetic arm and can leave her home in a wheelchair. However, significant challenges remain. She no longer qualifies for Medicaid and has been denied disability support four times.
Each advanced robotic prosthetic limb costs around $19,000, leaving her responsible for huge out-of-pocket expenses. Her community has rallied around her, setting up a GoFundMe fundraiser to help purchase a second prosthetic arm, with the hope of funding robotic legs in the future. This would grant her the independence to care for her children and drive again.
Despite the unimaginable hardship of the last few years, Marshall says she feels 'blessed' to be alive and is supported by a strong network of family and friends. 'You feel like you’re in a dream, but when you wake up, it’s your reality. There is nothing I can change. I am learning to accept it,' she told WGHP.
