Winnipeg mom loses both legs and right arm to rare form of strep throat

WINNIPEG — What started off as signs of a cold, quickly changed to a triple amputation in a rush to save the life of one Winnipeg mother.

Cari Kirkness said in February she thought she had a cold and she tried to battle it like she always did, by hydrating and staying strong. She said her doctor’s visit didn’t present anything concerning but she was only going downhill, her mother took her to the emergency room.

“I dropped her off and that’s the last time I [had] seen her walk. She was walking in to the emergency by herself and that just breaks my heart when I think about that now,” Loretta Kirkness, Cari’s Mother, said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I dropped her off and that's the last time I [had] seen her walk. She was walking in to the emergency by herself and that just breaks my heart when I think about that now," Loretta Kirkness, Cari's Mother, said.

On Feb. 8, the 28-year-old mother of two didn’t know it then, but her life would change forever.

She found out that she had a rare form of Group A strep throat. In order to save Kirkness, doctors had to amputate one leg and one arm to remove the infection, and later had to remove her other leg.

“It just changed overnight. I thought it was a sickness and was going to go away. Just all of a sudden I woke up two weeks later,” Cari Kirkness said.

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It’s a tragedy Kirkness and her family said they want to warn others about.

Kirkness said if you start to feel sick and it isn’t going away, then don’t just sit there, make sure you get yourself checked.

While Kirkness said she’ll approach this new future ahead of her optimistically, her family said they’re now relying on the generosity of strangers to help them through this tough time.

Cari Kirkness is the mother of two boys, an 11-year-old and a two-year-old, and in order for her to maneuver around her new life and raise her two boys to the best of her abilities, her mother said she’s going to need a lot of special equipment and a home that can accommodate a wheelchair.

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“I want to ensure she’s got a good home that’s wheelchair accessible. Anything that will make her life easier for her,” Loretta Kirkness said.

Cari’s mother Loretta broke down as she explained the importance of the gofundme page set up for Cari by her brother.

“Someday Tom and I are not going to be here and I want to know, I’ll feel good knowing, I’m going to leave this earth making sure she’s safe,” Loretta Kirkness said.