A mother-of-four dismissed a New Year's Day sniffle as a flu - but was horrified to wake up in hospital days later missing all four of her limbs. 

Cassandra Marshall, 35, came down with the flu at the end of 2023, which quickly escalated to a case of septic shock. 

Septic shock is the last step of sepsis and occurs when the immune system overreacts to an infection, causing organ failure and dangerously low blood pressure. 

Marshall's husband called 911 when she woke up unable to breathe. She was airlifted to a hospital in North Carolina and was resuscitated twice before she was put on life support. 

She later learned that the shock was a result of strep and the flu, Marshall told local Fox affiliate, WGHP. 

Marshall was put on an ECMO machine, which helped her regain respiratory function, but she lost blood supply in all four limbs and required a quadruple amputation. 

The mother's health took a drastic turn for the worse when doctors were forced to amputate. 

Marshall recalled in an interview with WGHP last year that her legs went first, and she suffered a major medical emergency before doctors could amputate her arms. 

A few days later, she was strong enough for surgery, and both of her lower arms were removed. 

Marshall told WGHP that it was easier to lose her legs because she mourned being able to hold her children. 

'I wanna be there… I missed my eldest’s graduation, and that hurt, but my kids are my motivation,' she added at the time. 

Two years later, she's beginning to adapt to her new life with a prosthetic arm. 

However, she doesn't qualify for Medicaid anymore and has been denied disability four times. 

Marshall's community is raising funds through a GoFundMe to help her purchase another prosthetic arm and, eventually, legs. 

A family friend has started a fundraiser for Marshall's second arm so she can care for her children independently and drive. 

Marshall told WGHP that each robotic prosthetic costs $19,000. Without Medicaid and disability, she's responsible for paying out of pocket. 

Despite the last few years, she said she was 'blessed' to be alive and has a support system rallying around her. 

'You feel like you’re in a dream, but when you wake up, it’s your reality. There is nothing I can change. I am learning to accept it,' she told the publication.