ALL she had was a kidney stone.

But she claimed that some doctors got her diagnosis wrong. And they ended up amputating her arms and legs.

The Associated Press reported that on 20Sep, 2003, Ms Lisa Strong was working at a mall in the US state of Florida and found that she could barely walk.

She went home, and hours later, the pain became worse. Her fever hit 41 deg C, so she decided to go to the hospital.

Ms Strong, now 45, said: 'I told the nurse I had a kidney stone. I have a history of kidney stones.'

But her condition was never treated, triggering a life-threatening infection and septic shock that starved her limbs of blood.

Her flesh turned black as a 'line of death' crept up her arms and legs. It didn't stop for a month. She said: 'My fingers turned black. My toes and the bottoms of my feet turned black. My fingers started to curl. It looked like I had held them in a fire.'

A month after she first went to the hospital, doctors amputated her legs below the knees. Three days later, her arms below the elbows were amputated too.

Two years later, Ms Strong sued the doctors for negligence. A jury ruled against her.

However, Broward County Circuit Judge Charles Greene reversed the jury's verdict and concluded it was 'contrary to the law and the manifest weight of the evidence'.

The two physicians - the emergency room's DrLaurentina Kocik and the attending physician, Dr Jason Strong (no relation to Lisa) - have appealed the judge's ruling.

Written arguments are due today, though another trial could be held at least a year from now.

Dr Kocik, a 30-year veteran of ER medicine, insisted she told Dr Strong over the phone that Ms Strong was likely to have a kidney stone.

But Dr Kocik didn't write 'kidney stone' on her diagnosis report. Asked during the trial if she wished she had written it down, Dr Kocik said: 'You better believe I wish I did...a million times.'

However, Dr Strong claimed that there was no mention of a kidney stone when he talked with Dr Kocik. He claimed he was not told she was in septic shock, so he went with a diagnosis of acute cholecystitis, a gallbladder condition unrelated to the kidneys.

Dr Kocik insisted that she stressed the dire condition. She said she expected Dr Strong to give a few treatment orders and to immediately head to the hospital.

She also didn't turn the case over to her ER replacement during a shift change because Dr Strong was in charge.

Waited for hours

Ms Strong waited for hours to undergo the unnecessary surgery, which further weakened her. Finally, about 16 hours after she went to the ER, a test revealed the kidney stone that was causing her life-threatening infection and it was removed.

Four months later, Ms Strong got out of the hospital as a quadruple amputee.

Today, she struggles to prepare meals with her prosthetic limbs. Her 10-year-old daughter, Chloe, helps her put on make-up.

She's in constant pain and owes US$850,000 ($1.23million) in medical bills.

Her 10-year marriage fell apart and ended with the couple sharing custody of Chloe and another child, 9-year-old Jesse. She gets by on monthly US$1,600 in disability payments and has doubts about the new trial.

She said: 'I had decided, this is over. I'm moving forward. Now, this whole thing is back on my lap and hanging over my head. The more I thought about it, the worse I felt.'

This article was first published in The New Paper.