A woman who thought the stabbing pain in her stomach was due to a bad period was later rushed to hospital with sepsis that left her dead for eight minutes.
Model Kia Brazil from Milwaukee, in the US, woke up on February 11, 2019, with stabbing pains in her stomach that gradually progressed over several hours.
At the time, 30-year-old Kia thought she was suffering from severe menstrual cramps.
But the pain continued to escalate, and hours later, she was in an ambulance.
When she arrived at the hospital, her blood pressure was dangerously low, and doctors discovered an infection in her stomach which had resulted in sepsis.
As she was being prepared for surgery, her heart stopped three times. She was rushed into surgery, where her left leg had to be amputated.
However, the doctors thought it was too late. Kia was dead for a total of eight minutes, and her family was given the tragic news that there was nothing more they could do.
Luckily, her family refused to accept this, and insisted that Kia must be taken to another hospital for life-saving treatment.
In the second hospital, she was put in a medically induced coma for two weeks, until she miraculously woke up on her own.
Kia woke up to see her left leg missing, and her right leg and several fingers were blackened and dead.
Her family and friends, particularly her children, were devastated, but they and Kia never lost hope.
Determined to get rid of the dead limbs to avoid another infection, Kia's right leg and several fingers were amputated.
Kia is adamant that her faith in God is what helped her get through this ordeal. She believes that God brought her back from the brink of death, and now her faith is stronger than ever.
After a year of hospital visits and physiotherapy, Kia's life had started to get back on track.
She has now written a book about her spiritual experience, titled Surviving Sepsis: A Survivor's Tale, and has started a career as a model, aiming to increase body diversity in the industry.
"I wasn't aware I had gone septic until it was way too late. Everything happened so fast,” Kia said.
"What I thought was menstrual cramps was actually sepsis taking over my body. I woke up with stomach pains on and off for a few hours, until the pain was so unbearable that I had to have my sister call an ambulance.
"My body locked up completely as the stabbing pains continued. Once I got to the hospital, I was put in the waiting room until they couldn't handle my screams.
"I had CT scans, and the doctors discovered an infection in my stomach. It was urgent, so they took me into surgery. While being prepped for surgery, my blood pressure continued to drop - and my heart stopped.
"I was rushed into surgery, where I received my first amputation. During that surgery, I flatlined a total of three times, and was completely dead for eight minutes.
"The hospital advised my family that there was nothing more they could do.
But Kia’s family were insistent on getting a second opinion, she said, so she reached out to another hospital and began the fight for her life.
"Once I arrived at the second hospital, the fight was down to me,” she said. “I received some more amputations, but I fought.
"I was put in a medically induced coma for two weeks. I woke up on my own, to see that my left leg was gone and the right leg was completely dead. My fingers were stuck - cold, hard and black.
"After seeing the condition sepsis had left my body in, I was determined to get the other dead limbs off to avoid another infection."
Despite the immense change to her life that Kia had to face, her faith kept her going.
"I was given a completely new set of tools to use for the rest of my life. The most difficult part was learning how to use what I had left, and making sure I can still take care of my children the same way," said Kia.
"I've always stood firm in my faith and always believed God watches over me. A lot of the things I experienced with sepsis didn't affect me as badly as it could have.
"The most pain I felt was when I was heading to the first hospital, and after that, it was like I didn't feel anything else. It was as if God needed to talk with me for a moment and then send me back.
"My spiritual journey was so real that I ended up writing a book about it because I needed to make sense of what had happened.
"I then decided to model, because I wanted to show that people with limb differences are not 'foreign.'
"I am very confident in my body, soul and mind. After having my amputations, I've heard and seen all kinds of things - some good and some bad.
"It doesn't affect me, but there are so many people that look different and won't leave their house because the world can be so mean. I clearly do well under pressure, and I don't care what people think of me. I love my body, like everyone should.
"So my goal with modelling is to open the door for the children with limb differences who are afraid that they can't live a normal life.
"I do it for the young girl that feels ugly because she doesn't look 'normal'.
"We are all normal and beautiful. Not all supermodels have real legs - they come in metal as well."
