{"id":25528,"date":"2025-04-19T16:53:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-19T16:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/?p=25528"},"modified":"2025-04-19T16:53:00","modified_gmt":"2025-04-19T16:53:00","slug":"student-who-thought-she-had-the-flu-woke-up-to-be-told-all-four-of-her-limbs-need-amputating","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/?p=25528","title":{"rendered":"Student who thought she had the flu woke up to be told all four of her limbs need amputating"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

When Lily McGarry was rushed to hospital on 14 January, it was thought she was just suffering from flu-like symptoms.<\/p>\n

However, the\u00a0Cardiff<\/a>\u00a0University medical student ended up spending two weeks in a coma and woke up to be told all four of her limbs needed to be amputated, with her family and friends now raising\u00a0money<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0support her.<\/a><\/p>\n

The \u2018kind, thoughtful, active and positive\u2019 23-year-old had been\u00a0diagnosed<\/a>\u00a0with a \u2018severe and aggressive\u2019 infection and suffered two cardiac arrests.<\/p>\n

Lily had meningococcal septicaemia, a bacterial infection that can lead to organ failure and even death if not treated promptly. The\u00a0sporty<\/a>\u00a0student rapidly worsened into septic shock at the hospital.<\/p>\n

Her family say she \u2018fought for her life\u2019 and thankfully began to show signs of recovery after two weeks in the coma.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"Lily\"Lily<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Lily McGarry is described as ‘kind, thoughtful, active and positive’ (GoFundMe)<\/cite><\/div>\n

However, an MRI revealed multiple brain, spleen and liver infarcts \u2018leaving the long-term effects uncertain\u2019.<\/p>\n

The infection caused severe blood flow issues and meant that after waking from her coma, Lily found out she had to undergo surgery to \u2018shorten all four limbs\u2019.<\/p>\n

As her family raise money to ensure the \u2018the best chance for recovery and the opportunity to pursue her dreams\u2019, she has now been left a quadruple amputee ‘above her knees and through her elbows\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile this is a devastating situation, her strength and determination remain unshaken,\u201d they write\u00a0on<\/a>\u00a0GoFundMe.<\/p>\n

At the time of writing, over \u00a3215,000 has been raised by over 5,000 people generously donating to support the student.<\/p>\n

The fundraiser explains: \u201cBefore her illness, Lily was an avid swimmer, runner, and surfer, and these sports are essential to her well-being and happiness.<\/p>\n

“The advanced prosthetics available through private companies will give her the mobility and independence to return to these activities.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"They\"They<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

They hope to raise enough for prosthetic limbs. (GoFundMe)<\/cite><\/div>\n

They hope that this will not only help her physical recovery \u2018but also allow her to reconnect with the passions that have always brought her joy\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cFunds raised here will go directly towards prosthetics, adaptations to living environment, as well as the physiotherapy and rehabilitation necessary for Lily\u2019s recovery,\u201d they add.<\/p>\n

Any extra money not directly used for Lily\u2019s care are set to be donated to the charty Limb Power, supporting \u2018amputees and individuals with limb impairments through physical activity, sport, and the arts\u2019.<\/p>\n

In a recent update, it is explained that just one prosthetic leg \u2018exceeds \u00a3100,000\u2019 as they are also undertaking adaptations to make Lily\u2019s home accessible.<\/p>\n

Thanking the thousands of donors, they added the goal has now been set to \u00a3250,000.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis will allow us to support her rehabilitation across multiple areas\u2014from essential equipment and therapies to long-term adaptations that will give her the best possible quality of life,\u201d they explain.<\/p>\n

You can donate to help Lily rebuild her life\u00a0here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    When Lily McGarry was rushed to hospital on 14 January, it was thought she was just suffering from flu-like symptoms. However, the\u00a0Cardiff\u00a0University medical student ended up spending two … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":25529,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25528","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25528","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25528"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25528\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25530,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25528\/revisions\/25530"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/25529"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25528"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25528"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25528"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}