A bride-to-be who awoke after a routine operation to find both legs amputated is set on walking down the aisle on her wedding day.
Tina McCue was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes as a child causing her to suffer vascular disease.
The mum-of-four had “battled” with the disease her whole life and was scheduled for an operation to correct the narrowing of the veins in her legs.
But when Tina was admitted to Royal Stoke University Hospital, surgeons found a serious infection, reports Stoke Sentinel .
They were left with no choice but to amputate both limbs immediately - leaving Tina to learn of the drastic decision only after the operation.
Tina, aged 37, said: “At first I thought it was just a bad dream, that something had gone wrong and I was in a coma, but that I would wake up and still have my legs. That’s how I started thinking.
“Then reality kicked in. I was devastated. At first I was thinking, ‘I don’t see any point’, I would be better off dying. That was just a really bad time. The pain was horrendous.
“But now I know I can do it. I’ve got to learn to live with it.
However, the health ordeal isn’t over for Tina, as the former barmaid is waiting for a kidney and pancreas transplant after the condition led to their failure.
Tina is being supported by her partner, Martyn Pritchard, and her children, Jordan, 18, Ryan, 16, Scott, 12, and Tiffany, 11.
She added: “I know I have got Martyn and there’s nothing he wouldn’t do for me, and I’m so proud of my children, because it must be hard for them.”
Family and friends have rallied their support and are raising funds to adapt their home for when Tina is ready to leave hospital.
On a Just Giving fundraising page, friends described Tina, who was their former hospitality colleague, as ‘never one to complain’ despite being burdened with health issues.
The group are also planning to host future fundraising events to help lessen the financial strain on the family and to enable Tina live as comfortably as possible, they wrote.
Martin, 37, praised the community support the family have received so far.
He said: “The communities of Milton and Baddeley Green are just fantastic. The support has been incredible. Tina is doing really well.”
Tina’s cousin, Samantha Dudley, said she first heard of diabetes type one when she was a young child and Tina was diagnosed.
She said: “A day in the life of a type one diabetic is not easy. I call it the forever diet because you have to carbohydrate count every meal and then give yourself a dose of insulin based on this calculation.
“When I first visited Tina in hospital, all she wanted was for my children to be okay, which just shows how she always puts other people first.
“She’s such a wonderfully big-hearted person.”
The Just giving page has wracked up £126 to date and in total loved ones have raised £1500 for home modifications including a downstairs toilet and a wet room.
