Kayleigh Ferguson-Walker and her husband Ramon were living a normal life in sunny Florida raising their young daughter when, in March 2017, their lives took a tragic turn.
While six months pregnant with the couple’s second child, Kayleigh became ill with flu-like symptoms. “It came, body chills and it just got cold very quickly, and I thought nothing of it at first,” Kayleigh told CBN News. When the symptoms grew more and more severe, Kayleigh realized something wasn’t right, and her husband took her to the hospital.
Once there, Kayleigh’s situation worsened as doctors worked to diagnose and treat her sickness. Symptoms had grown to include labored breathing, a drop in her blood pressure, and failing kidneys.
During their examination, doctors discovered a problem with the baby and immediately moved to induce labor. That led to more devastating news. “Her doctor came for me and told me that she was sorry to say but the baby didn’t make it,” explained Ramon. “I don’t think they had an understanding of what happened.”
Doctors eventually discovered that Kayleigh had Sepsis, a severe infection that threatened to shut down vital organs including her heart, lungs, and liver. After rushing Kayleigh to intensive care, doctors put her in a medically-induced coma. After two weeks in a coma, Kayleigh was taken to another hospital in Broward County, where doctors say her limbs had become extremely toxic and drastic measures needed to be taken.
“It was immediately apparent because the second we just pulled back the bed sheets, you could see the circulation had changed,” said Dr. James Fletcher, Kayleigh’s doctor.
Gangrene had set in and in order to save her life, all four of Kayleigh’s limbs had to be immediately removed.
Praying for a Miracle
Kayleigh and her family are all devout Christians. Friends and church members joined them in praying for a miracle. Her mother Laurel Robinson said it was difficult seeing her daughter in such a dire medical condition. She said she had doubts that Kayleigh would recover.
“I questioned God. I questioned him throughout because you know I said why her? Why all four. I got angry with him, very angry because how can you do this? She’s been a Christian. She’s been a believer,” she said.
“The question that ultimately came to us was would you trade life for a limb? And the obvious answer, of course, was life – we would take life over anything,” he said.
Today Kayleigh is adjusting well to her new life without hands and feet. “I have one prosthetic to work with, but I use that as much as I can,” she said. “Eating, I do the best with my elbow, because I have the elbows. I can use motion to eat and I’ve realized I’m left-handed.”
Kayleigh says her faith in God has been the key to helping her deal with her loss.
“I try to look at the side ‘let’s see what I can do,'” she said. “I challenge myself a lot what I can do rather than just sit here and be like okay I can’t do nothing, ain’t got no limbs. No, I can’t think that way.”
Faith and a Positive Outlook
She admits that her journey has been the most difficult thing she has ever faced. She recalled a conversation she had with God after doctors removed her limbs.
“I’d asked him why me? Not too sure why me. Why all four. Why not just one? Why not just one arm? One leg? Why all four?” she said. “But I was like, I’m in this position, you’re just gonna have to strengthen me a whole lot more. And I’ll just have to keep on going.”
Filled with renewed faith and a positive outlook on life, Kayleigh often finds the strength to smile.