A five-year-old girl's foot was chopped off and flung '30 feet' into the air in a horrific accident as she chased her grandad on the lawnmower.
Little Maisie fell over while her grandfather was mowing the family's lawn and blades severed off her big toe on her right foot and entire left foot last week.
Her mum Emma Baker described the 'nightmare' ordeal as she felt something hit her leg before realising it was her daughter's foot.
Emma had warned Maisie to stop but she excitedly chased after the sit-on lawnmower when she fell and, unbeknownst to her devastated grandfather, fell under the sharp blades.
The mum-of-three feared that Maisie would bleed to death as she desperately stemmed the blood flow until paramedics rushed the little girl to hospital.
Surgeons at Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, spent 10 hours cleaning the wound and reattaching the flesh - and even after two more operations Maisie may still face her foot having to be amputated.
Devastated mum Emma, 38, is now speaking out about the accident to warn others to keep their children inside when mowing the lawn and is crowdfunding to provide for Maisie's recovery.
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Emma, from Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, said: "It's heartbreaking. It's the worst thing that anyone could even dream about. It doesn't seem real.
"I feel heartbroken. I'm extremely sad. I've got to try and hold it together for my other children.
"The only time I properly grieve and get really upset is when I'm by myself. I haven't got words for it. I just feel sick. There are no words.
"Her grandfather feels distraught. He is constantly crying. He feels guilty. He doesn't know how to react or what to do to make it better.
"It's very frustrating because of the coronavirus, he is unable to visit to try and console her and speak to her about it. Obviously there have been options of FaceTiming but it's not enough."
The mum warned: "Stay inside when mowing and do not go out at all when there is a lawnmower in the garden. It takes a second.
"Kids get everywhere, and you just don't know, do you? My daughter fell over accidentally.
"I pray for my daughter, to be honest. I pray that it doesn't happen to anyone else."
Despite doctors hoping Maisie's foot has been saved and re-attached, her right toe was unable to be reattached and she faces an indeterminate amount of time in hospital.
With just one parent allowed to visit Maisie at a time due to coronavirus restrictions, Emma and dad Chris, 38, are taking it in turns to be by her bedside.
The couple anticipate that their daughter will need to leave hospital in a wheelchair and will need physiotherapy and counselling to recover - with the possibility of prosthetics not ruled out.
The couple are fundraising to pay for Maisie's future treatment and have raised more than £3,850 so far.
Even though she is in a lot of pain, Emma described Maisie as a 'fighter' and claims she has new ambitions to be a doctor herself when she is older.
Emma, who is a full-time mum, said: "At the minute we don't know if her foot is going to take still, and there's still a risk of all the possibilities of amputation.
"If that happened it's obviously getting the right help to aid her mobility.
"She's already had one amputation of her toe, but we're not sure what else is going to happen at the moment because it's really early days.
"We'll use the donations for anything she needs for recovery, if she's suffering mental health issues and needs to speak to someone or wheelchairs.
"I've been told when she leaves hospital she will need to have a wheelchair because both feet were affected. She will need physiotherapy.
"She's not going to be able to wear normal shoes, I don't think. We're going to have to look at specialist shoes.
"There are all sorts of things. At the minute, it's too far away for me to process. I know that's to come.
"Maisie is fully aware of the whole incident. She knows everything. She knows her foot had been completely removed from her body.
"She's really struggling, bless her. She's in a lot of pain. She was in good spirits until her third operation when they reconnected nerves and things, and that's really upset her.
"I'm overwhelmed to be honest. I didn't realise we'd be able to fundraise this far.
"I know when Maisie gets a bit older, I am sure she will absolutely love the support everyone is providing. It's going to be such a lift for her."
You can donate to Maisie's cause here.
