A mum who passed out after a night on the town and woke up with her legs decomposing and almost needing an amputation is warning others about the dangers of heavy drinking.
Julia Anderson, 36, was enjoying an evening out drinking vodka with pals before she passed out in an awkward position.
She woke up to the terrifying realisation that she was unable to walk after her legs had swollen up to double their usual size overnight.
Terrified Julia said she had no idea what could have happened to her. "All I could think to myself was 'did I break my legs or something? Why can't I move my legs?," she recalled.
Sobbing in terror Julia rang her mum who called an ambulance for her. Medics arrived and rushed her to a nearby hospital.
But the news wasn’t good - after several rounds of tests and x-rays on her legs, medics informed Julia that she had been lying on her legs all night, blocking off blood flow.
This had led to a condition called compartment syndrome, she was told, where muscle and nerve cells are cut off from oxygen and nutrients in the blood and receive damage and start to die.
When blood returns to the area the body responds to the damaged cells with huge amounts of inflammation.
Surgeons at Michael Garron Hospital in Toronto, Ontario, cut open Julia's left calf muscle to relieve the pressure in a drastic, life-saving operation. Sections of muscles were cut out to relieve the swelling and reduce the toxins being released into her bloodstream.
The hole left in her leg required a skin graft following the operation to help Julia heal.
"The nerve damage was so bad I was screaming out in the middle of the night with the pain," Julia said.
"Imagine your leg is falling asleep but that tingling feeling is times a thousand, like a sharp shooting electric shock up my leg," she added.
Julia recovered in hospital for five weeks following the gruelling surgery before being allowed home where she was bedridden for a further three weeks and forced to take heavy-duty painkillers for a year.
Julia said she still walks "funny" following her traumatic experience, though her movement is much improved.
"It's been years but it still feels like my foot is mildly asleep all the time, I'm used to it," the mum said.
"My toes are starting to curl under, I don't know if I'll need further surgery or if there's anything they can do at this point," she added.
After being embarrassed by her ordeal for three years, Julia bravely decided to share her story to ensure it doesn't happen to anyone else.
"Never pass out really drunk, sleeping it off is dangerous," she warned
"Have some food and water instead and try to sober up before bed," Julia added.
