'I'm hands on without the hands' - for now

By Victoria Adelus, KTVZ.COM

A Redmond woman who lost her hands and arms to a bacterial infection as a teen may soon have them again.

It all started when Sarah Mues was 14 and was diagnosed with pneumococcal sepsis, a bacterial infection that left her with a tough reality to face.

"They told my parents every night that I wasn't going to live through the night, I was going to die, she said Tuesday.

Instead, Mues lived the last 16 years - without hands and toes.

"When the doctor came in, he said, 'Sarah, we are going to have to take your hands and toes off,' and I said, 'No.'"

But the amputation wasn't a choice. Sarah's limbs, hands and toes had died due to the infection.

Her mother, Valerie Williams, recalled those awful times: "I just don't even know how to put it into words. It was just devastating."

But Mues has learned to persevere, even thrive, doing just about all the things people do - typing, making a sandwich, hugging a child.

"I'm hands on, without the hands," she said.

Her sense of humor and strong will has helped her to re-learn every basic movement.

"I can still play the piano, and I can actually type 35 words per minute with my elbows," she said.

A recent trip to Chicago may change her life. It's where she met reconstructive surgeon Ernie Manders.

"He came up to me, and he says, 'I don't want to intrude, but I want to introduce myself. I'm Dr. Manders. I'm going to a conference where the head doctors and professor at the University of Pittsburgh is speaking about a hand transplant.'"

Those doctors have since begun work on a study that may give her hands again.

"At that point, I was in shock, didn't know how to react," she said.

If future testing goes well, she'll move to Pittsburgh and wait for the death of a donor.

"We want skin texture the same and body size the same," she said. "And a female, of course, because I don't want hairy arms."

For Mues, she knows there's still a long road ahead. But just the thought of possibly having arms and hands again makes it all worth it.

"If I did this, I would be able to hold my kids' hands, intertwining our fingers," she said. "There's not a feeling like that in the world."

Once a donor is found, the free surgery would need to happen within 10 hours.

If you would like to help, you can do so through donating to the Sarah Mues donation account at any U.S. Bank branch.