OXFORD, Miss. — What started with hives on an Oxford mother led to amputations.
The normally healthy mother, Bridgette Turner, asked on Facebook whether she should go the hospital when some hives erupted mid-June.
Her friend Melissa Evans says soon after, Turner decided to go to a hospital in Oxford and then to one in Memphis.
“She started getting pain and discoloration of her limbs,” Evans said. “They weren’t sure what was going on.”
The pain and discoloration only got worse, and doctors say they couldn’t figure out why.
Turner was then transported to Vanderbilt.
“She’s undergone therapy similar to what a burn victim would undergo,” Evans said.
Turner received skin grafts and had to have both feet, her left hand and part of her right hand amputated. Her husband told us her blood vessels clotted and killed the tissue.
Doctors say out of the hundreds of tests, Turner only came back positive for one: Factor V Leiden. It’s a rare blood-clotting disorder.
However, doctors aren’t diagnosing her with the disease yet and still haven’t said what caused it.
What’s clear, Turner will have to get prosthetics for her feet and at least one hand.
Evans and other friends form Turner’s hometown of Hernando, Mississippi are raising money for Turner online and at an upcoming blood drive.
“This is going to be a long-term change for her lifestyle,” Evans said.
Turner sent us a statement, saying she’s overwhelmed with the amount of love and support she has received. Her husband added, “She will get through this, because she is strong.”
If you’d like to help Turner, you can donate to her GoFundMe account.
The blood drive will be held August 24 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Hernando WalMart at 2600 McIngvale Road.