A woman who awoke from a coma to discover doctors had AMPUTATED her leg after she 'died' for 5 minutes, Ivy Daniels, 27, went into cardiac arrest due to a diabetic low in January Her boyfriend attempted to perform CPR while on the phone to paramedics Medics discovered a blood clot in her leg after it began to turn black She has now learnt to love her prosthetic leg and prefers it to her real one.
A woman who died for five minutes told of how she woke from a coma to discover doctors had amputated her leg. Ivy Daniels, 27, went into cardiac arrest due to a diabetic low, on January 8 this year. Feeling panicked when he walked into her room and saw her lying motionless, her boyfriend Jonathan Dios, 28, did his best to perform CPR, while on the phone to paramedics, who resuscitated her when they arrived. But, after being rushed to the hospital, medics discovered that Miss Daniels had suffered a blood clot in her right foot and two days later, her leg began to turn black.
Ivy Daniels, 27, went into cardiac arrest due to a diabetic low. Family and medical staff had no choice but to agree to a below the knee amputation (right), but now she has learnt to love her prosthetic leg (left) Family and medical staff had no choice but to agree to a below the knee amputation, while she was still in a coma. When she woke up to see her missing limb, she screamed in horror. Now, however, she has learnt to love her prosthetic leg and even prefers it to her real one. 'I survived death,' Miss Daniels said. 'I consider myself an epic superhuman. A lot of amputees hate their prosthetic limbs, but I love mine. 'I feel like I'm half a string terminator. I'm part robot now it's really cool.' Over the years, Miss Daniels, from New York, has battled a string of different health conditions. She was born with Beckwith-Wiedemann Syndrome (BWS), an overgrowth disorder, meaning her left leg was always slightly longer than her right and she walked with a limp. This condition also meant her breasts grew unevenly, and at age 14 she had an operation to resize her D and A cup chest to a C. As a child, she also overcame Wilms' tumours - a type of kidney cancer- three times when she was three, five and seven, and underwent 21 months of chemotherapy before getting the all-clear. On top of this, she has lived with type 1 diabetes since she was 14 and is insulin-dependent. Earlier this year, her photographer boyfriend arrived at her flat to find her lying still in her room. At first, he thought she was napping - but quickly realised she was not breathing and did not have a heartbeat.
Now, the 27-year-old from New York has learnt to love her prosthetic leg and even prefers it to her real one. She was born with Beckwith-Wiedemann Syndrome (BWS), an overgrowth disorder, meaning her left leg was always slightly longer than her right and she walked with a limp. He immediately phoned an ambulance, which arrived within minutes. Paramedics managed to revive her, but doctors later said she had been dead for about five minutes. Recalling the terrifying incident, freelance photographer Mr Dios said: 'I stepped out of the bedroom to let the paramedics work and sat in the living room, cuddling our kitten and started to pray. 'One of the paramedics came out of the bedroom and told me that they got her heart to start working but that she was still unconscious, and that she could be brain dead.' Miss Daniels, who has no memory of that day, was rushed to Mount Sinai Queens hospital where she was put into an induced coma. Just 48 hours later, doctors noticed that the bottom half of her right leg was purple and black, due to a blood clot in her foot. As Miss Daniels was in a coma she could not be part of the decision to amputate her leg - but doctors said they needed to amputate as soon as possible or the situation would deteriorate and she could face a full leg amputation. When she finally awoke on January 14 and saw her missing limb, she screamed in shock - completely devastated. Miss Daniels was rushed to hospital where she was put into a coma after her boyfriend tried to perform CPR while on the phone to paramedics (pictured right with her boyfriend before amputation, Jonathan Dios). 'I was screaming and freaking out,' she said. 'The nurses had to hold me down and calm me. I had no recollection of anything and had an anxiety attack. 'I got really depressed and felt angry for the first couple of weeks.' Soon after, Miss Daniels took to reading about inspiring amputees online and slowly began to accept her situation. She said she realised she was not alone and was helped by her sister Aimée Daniels, 24, who sent her links to stories of amputees who were 'rocking the world'. She was also motivated by the hope that she could one day walk again with the help of prosthetics. She remained in the hospital for two weeks and did a further fortnight of physiotherapy rehabilitation at the Northern Dutchess Hospital in Rhinebeck, New York. Then on June 8, she got her new prosthetic leg - and decided she liked it more than her real one. Speaking of the first moments trying out her new limb, she said: 'I just put one foot after the other and found that walking came naturally to me. 'For the first time in my life, now my legs are the same length. I feel differently-abled rather than disabled. 'My prosthetic leg makes me feel hardcore, part-human and part terminator. I love it. It gave me my freedom back.'
