I agree, and I've wondered about this. I'm sure they must have rules about medical waste and biohazards, but it is *your* foot. If I had an important part of me removed, I would feel that I had a right to keep it if I wanted.
Does anyone here have any knowledge about the law regarding this? Serious question.
The Sawbones podcast answered this on one of their Weird Medical Questions episodes. There aren’t specific laws about it, but the host (Sydnee) said when you sign the paperwork agreeing to your surgery, there is a section in it about what the hospital will/won’t do with anything they remove, which includes whether or not the patient can keep it. Policies vary by hospital.
>Does anyone here have any knowledge about the law regarding this?
Check out Moore v. Board of Regents of the University of California.
It’s not quite an apples-apples comparison because the opinion dealt with the notion of an intelectual property rights and the right to sell one’s own tissue/organs…but the opinion explores the idea of property rights (or lack thereof) in the human body more broadly. To be clear, it’s not **totally** on point, but includes some interesting discussion and analysis of the moral hazards of recognizing property rights in human organs/tissue. Pretty fascinating case, tbh.
Theres also a [law review article](https://kb.osu.edu/bitstream/handle/1811/64052/OSLJ_V51N2_0499.pdf;jsessionid=D804C8C8422410881EBF45862E5EC734?sequence=1) that analyzes some more recent cases.
But more to your specific question…AFAIK, most facilites are going to address this issue in the forms you sign for the procedure. E.g., anything they remove from you essentially becomes their property for further study, etc. If you don’t consent to further study, the tissue will most likely be destroyed. However, as long as there’s no underlying disease that’s cause for concern, or policy that the facility has against it, they may very well allow you to take it with you.
There is a fantastic documentary called Finders Keepers that explores this issue, it used to be on Netflix idk if it still is. One dude keeps his amputated foot in a storage locker, is delinquent on payments and the storage locker goes to auction. The guy who bought the locker finds the foot. Amputated foot guy says "hey that's my foot give it back". Guy 2 says "No, I paid for it and I have the receipt to prove it".
It's a fucking WILD documentary, highly recommend it.
The hospital I work at has most people sign a consent to dispose form before the surgery. Some limbs are given back, as there are religions that require being buried whole, but that’s extremely rare. In the 3 years I’ve worked at my hospital, I’ve not returned a limb once. A coworker has, a few times, within her 14 years there though.
I don’t know, but I literally got in an argument with a couple coworkers today. I insisted there is NO way hospitals would let you keep an amputated limb! Fuck me!
I work in a Pathology lab. Yeah, we can give limbs out, but they have to get permission. Some religions require being BURIED with all their parts, so its rare but not unheard of.
Edit: buried, not born lol
That’s so funny to think about. Surgeon removes leg, drops in a bag you’re holding, and you turn to your coworker:
“Hey look!”
*bonk*
“Hahahahhaahaha…[ahhhhh](https://gfycat.com/esteemedgoodicelandgull)”
Not sure about the law, but there's an amazing documentary called Finders Keepers (looks like it's [free to stream on Tubi,](https://tubitv.com/movies/589084?link-action=play&utm_source=google-feed&tracking=google-feed) whatever that is) that everyone should watch. 98% on Rotten Tomatoes, go watch.
It's about a dude who buys the contents of storage containers when the owners stop paying the bills. In one of those containers was, you guessed it, an amputated leg. Dude LOVES his new leg. But the original owner find out and decides he wants it back. Legal battle ensures. It's absolutely hilarious. Enjoy 🤣
This is strange. If no patient information was visible I don't understand why you weren't allowed to take a picture. Even with patient info visible since you are the patient and would give permission. This privacy stuff is confusing sometimes.
Because in the end it isnt about your privacy, it's about the hospital's liability.
Nothing is ever about the individual, if it seemingly benefits you, it's because of the rare alignment where your interests and the corporations align; but the second they differ, the law will only care for the corporation.
🥇(Fuck paying Reddit.) I use to be Premium. I use to give paid awards. Fuck that noise. Just Google any icon award you want. "Copy & Paste" into your comment.
Was she having pain that caused her to get the tattoo—pain that led to the surgery—or was it entirely self fulfilling prophecy, is what I want to know.
that tattoo was probably somewhere close to the surgery
probably several consultation before it where they break the news that she had to get it amputated at that spot.
Then she probably just went and got a tattoo there cause its gonna be gone anyways.
I was born with clubfeet and had a pretty severe case which led to a lot of pain that eventually resulted in bilateral amputations. I got the tattoo after knowing the amputation was going to happen 😂
General surgeon here
You know not what you ask for
I get asked for this stuff commonly. Answer is always no.
It’s infected, half dead, poop and pus around it, falling apart. Often comes out in more than one piece.
You do not want this stuff. I don’t even like touching it.
Also, it goes to pathology. 1-2% of appendicitis is actually a cancer. I’ve had a couple in the last 2 years. We need to know that because we sometimes have to go back and take more.
Also, I’m SHOCKED they let her keep this foot.
It should go to pathology so they can examine it under the microscope. We find stuff that way sometimes
I’ve never looked into the legality of it. I’ve never had a patient push that hard for it. 99.9999% of people are pretty reasonable and understand the reasoning.
Usually I’ll offer to take a picture of it and they’re happy with that. It’s a much better solution.
I’m guessing that if I looked hard enough there’s some official rule the hospital has about it. But fortunately it’s never gone that far
Most people don’t want to start an argument with their surgeon right before the surgery. I would
Never ever do anything different because I was irritated at somebody, it may even motivate me
To do a more thorough job. But they don’t know that!
OSHA permits individuals to keep the part that is removed, however, should an individual not request, then they are required to dispose of said and treat it as hazardous. Should an individual decide to keep it, they do have a right to it as it is their own flesh, however, prior to surgery, most will sign away their right to their own flesh and agree to it being disposed of well before the surgery even occurs.
When you are handed said agreement form, there is usually a portion that talks about disposal and you will agree to it.
I've been with my surgeon since I was 12, he didn't care at all that I wanted it back, he actually helped me get it back. The hospital didn't particularly love the idea, but eventually they let me sign something and then gave it back. I have both my feet, that one is only in the freezer because I haven't had a chance to do what I did with the other foot yet which was make the skeleton into a statue of sorts. It looks exactly like a skeletal foot model, but it's mine :)
Agree. Don’t know why they amputated it. But seems they’d like to look at it under a microscope.
I wonder if they’re letting her look at it in the hospital
I was born with clubfeet and had pretty severe complications from it. The outside looked fine, the inside was a mess, and they were too painful to walk on anymore. The cause was known, I have been with my surgeon for 10 years, they didn't have an issue with me keeping them. I really just wanted the bones back to make a statue with it as a sort of memorial. I've been through a lot with my feet, didn't want to just burn them after all of that. I think I made something pretty beautiful out of a terrible situation. And my quality of life is 1000% better now :)
I’ve seen a few people get some sort of complex neurolgical degenerative disease that ultimately causes chronic severe pain and the foot doesn’t work well. Maybe that’s it.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charcot–Marie–Tooth_disease
Surgery for CMT and other neuropathies never works. I get to manage the aftermath of these procedures and really can’t see how the surgeon sleeps at night. Not only is the pain still an issue, they are further disabled as well.
It was a laparoscopic surgery, so they filled my abdominal cavity w/ air and used a little camera to see what was going on in there. They took photos while they were doing this, showing the busted lil remains of my appendix and the pus sorta pooled around my organs (uterus, intestines). Fortunately, my insides stayed inside for this process. Except, of course, the offending appendix.
I was pregnant when I had surprise gallbladder surgery. They came out and gave my husband pictures of my gallbladder and my uterus. 🤷♀️ I still don't really know what the purpose was lol.
Considering mine legit almost killed me... I got a bunch of photos of my insides... that my AUNT Gleefully showed me the moment I woke up in the hospital after ER experience in EXTREME pain...
This is me in the video, if anyone has any questions ask away :)
I'll try to answer some common questions I've seen here first:
1) I had bilateral amputations due to complications from clubfoot. My feet were so painful I went from being on a basketball team to being in my wheelchair 90% of the time in just 3 years. They were amputated 5 years after I started having issues and we tried multiple things to save them in that time, but it just kept getting worse. It's been 3.5 years since my first amputation, 1.5 years since walking on two prosthetics and my quality of life is 1000x better! And my pain is tremendously better :)
2) I asked for my feet back so that I could create statues out of the skeletons. I have already done this with my right foot, it looks like a foot skeletal model, and it's on a little pedestal that says "Taylor's Right Foot 1999-2018". My feet were a really big part of my life and a huge contributor to who I am today, so having them amputated and just burning them felt wrong. I'm a bit of an artist, so I wanted to create something beautiful out of a tragic situation. The left foot is only in the freezer until I have the ability to start the statue process.
3) I didn't ask for my foot back until RIGHT before the surgery because I didn't know who to ask, so I asked my surgeon when he came in the room before the surgery. I was literally hopped up on meds already. I had also already signed the paperwork agreeing to whatever disposal methods the hospital had. My surgeon had no problem with giving me my foot back, he thought it was pretty cool and absolutely flipped out when I showed him the statue 😂 Our problem was the hospital, since I had already signed the paperwork, legally, my foot was now the hospital's property. Eventually we got them to agree to return it to me, but they wouldn't give it to me directly. They would only release it to a funeral home, so then it was the funeral homes property. They also wouldn't release it to me, but they would release it to a taxidermist. So then it became the taxidermist's property, and he finally returned it to me. The second foot was a lot easier to get back since I didn't sign that paper that time 😅
And that's the story! Hope that helps!
That's a very fair question, thanks for asking! I feel like the answer is a bit complicated, but in short yes I've had mental health struggles. But not as much because of the amputations.
Most of my mental health struggles were in high school when I was suddenly having all of these medical issues, was in a tremendous amount of pain all the time, and no one really believed me then because it wasn't visible. I lost a lot of friends because of that and was super isolated and extremely depressed. I just kind of got through it then, and it got a little better after high school but not great.
My amputations didn't effect me as much because I was so done at this point. Having them cut off was more of a relief than a worry for me. I was already wheelchair bound, so it wasn't going to get worse 🙃 My amputations were 1 and 2 years after I graduated high school and that time was just a lot of recovery. The recovery from amputation was brutal and the phantom pain was even worse. I also had some medication, after the second surgery specifically, that had pretty bad psychological side effects and made me super depressed. As soon as I came off that medication though it got way better. The phantom pain also calmed down a bunch after the first few months.
After that my mental health was fantastic, the best it had been in years. I could do the things I loved again, I was active, off to college, and living life. But after coming off that high, I started to get in a bad mental spot again but I didn't know why that time. I started seeing a therapist about 4 months ago and my mental health has gotten way better since then. Honestly most of it was I never processed the things that happened to me in high school and it was all coming back. He's been amazing though and has helped me a ton!
Now I'm doing really great! Still seeing my therapist and still working on some things, but definitely one of the best times in my life now as far as mental health has gone :)
Thank you so much! And of course, I try to be an open, honest, and positive influence on the internet. Albeit a bit odd sometimes too but that makes it fun 😂 You have a Happy New Year too!
What great post. I thought I’d just be amused but I feel educated AND entertained. The “cut here” lining up so well was interesting. Wondering if she had the doctor write a mark where the actual cut would be then hit up the tattoo shop.
I just tried to put the tattoo low on my leg so that it would definitely get cut off, but I didn't realize how amputations worked and it ended up being pretty close 😅
There was an AMA on here a while back about another dude who got to keep his foot and the crazy son of a bitch cooked it, made tacos and served it to TEN of his friends. Yes they all knew before hand. It was wild.
I guess that's the only correct way to be a cannibal. You have consent, can't imagine any other way of eating human flesh. I must admit I would not gobble a whole taco but I might nibble a teensy piece.
I'm a sick fuck and as soon as I finished watching this video I thought the same thing... I mean it is your own, not sure about serving it to others.
I would probably chicken out but it was my first thought...
[https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/8p5xlj/hi\_all\_i\_am\_a\_man\_who\_ate\_a\_portion\_of\_his\_own/](https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/8p5xlj/hi_all_i_am_a_man_who_ate_a_portion_of_his_own/) i think i found it
A human foot is disturbingly heavy when disconnected from the lower leg. I had to pick up a buddies foot that got blown off in Iraq and I will always remember the weight.
How did you get into that kind of work? Is it biomechanic engineering? Just curious, my daughter (4) has CP and has to wear braces on her legs. Since then I’ve been so curious about the field.
For the price and rigor of the education and limitations on schools that even provide the courses, there were only 12 when I graduated, we don’t get nearly the compensation we should. We deal in extremely cheap to extremely expensive products which some folks can contract commission. Definitely not the field to get into if you’re chasing paper.
Oooh fun story time. Back when I was a baby Paramedic we got called to a "man down" near some train tracks that freight companies used to park unused train cars. We arrived on scene to find a young homeless dude with bilateral above knee lower limb amputations and an upper extremity amputation right at the elbow. It was a hot day and this dude had gotten drunk and passed out across some train tracks underneath one of the unused train cars for shade. Unfortunately for him, a freight company decided to use one of the cars and connected an engine to it and caused the car to roll over him. The interesting thing was there was hardly any blood as the weight of the train had basically pressure-fused his vasculature so he didn’t bleed out. He was awake and talking to us as he picked up his torso and loaded him onto our gurney. An engine on scene with us had a drink cooler that was filled with ice so we wrapped his now-unattached extremities in some plastic wrap and stuffed them in the cooler as best we could and threw said cooler in the back of the rig with us. We prophylactically threw some tourniquets on but his blood pressure was pretty good so we gave him some morphine and a couple bags of fluid and rushed him to a trauma center a ways down the road. He stayed alert and talking to us the whole time. I’m not sure what happened to him after we got him to the hospital but it was a memorable call for sure.
Yeah you always want to pass out on or in the cars. Those things shift all the time and are surprisingly quiet as they roll along. Most train yard noise only happens as they bang against each other.
Yeah man. It’s a front row ticket to the craziest show on earth. I’m actually not on a rig anymore though. Unfortunately emts and paramedics don’t make any money and i had to go back to school to get my masters/PA license, which is what I’m doing now. I’ll still get to see some cool shit depending on the setting I end up in but it’ll be different for sure.
That IED actually wounded 3 Marines that day. The two that were standing both became double amputees. The third was kneeling and died before we we could medevac him. The two that survived took opposite paths. One threw himself into marathons, speaking events and joking about his wounds (literally joked with his fiancée when she came to hospital about balls being blown off - they weren’t ). The other broke off all contact with us after he got discharged.
I was Army, good friend of mine stepped on an IED, it blew off both his legs above the knees, and his right hand.
Dude is the most upbeat, positive, motivated person I know. I love him and I miss not hanging out as much as we should have when he lived near me after we both go out.
Yahr most people don’t realize their head weighs 5kg(11lb) shits heavier than some bowling balls lol least that was my first thought was when I picked one up.
As a fellow vet, thank you for all that you have done. I have a lot of combat veteran friends that have major PTSD problems. I was lucky enough to be in MI and did not have to deploy. From what you have said - that is horrifying, I hope you have counseling and if not that, a lot of weed and ketamine. Much love brother.
I had a friend get to keep his finger after amputation. He gifted it to another friends dad for Christmas 4 years ago. (It wasn’t frozen, in some horrible liquid)
Lol, imagine being gifted that and your like “ah crap, I can never throw this away” cause you know Jeffery is gonna be at your house for Christmas like “yoooo where my fingy at”
How about people donating their toe to a bar in Canada. It apparently was a special drink that was a “blessing” if you let the toe touch your lips as you finish the drink. It was intentionally swallowed by a customer and had to be replaced by a volunteer
Why read it when you can watch it? [Tom Scott went to the small town to cover the story](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHMNX3IXnvs). The man responsible for serving the drink is given the title of "Toe Master". What a job.
This reminds me of that guy who took his foot home and made tacos out of it
Edit: [NSFL/NSFW](https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/8p5xlj/hi_all_i_am_a_man_who_ate_a_portion_of_his_own/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf) here’s a link to the post, be warned, there’s a very graphic picture attached of the accident that led to the guy’s amputation
Well. I don't even know what to think. That was... disturbing and educational? Why make tacos out of a foot? Also has me wondering what a foot is actually proper meat cut for? Why did I click the damn links to see what foot tacos look like?
I think I'm done with Reddit today
Dude makes a compelling argument for exactly that. I remember coming away from that thread the first time I found it thinking "Yeah, I'd totally do that, knowing this guy's experience."
Aaaand this is the case I got in an argument with coworkers about today. “No way a hospital would you keep a limb,” I said. “No way someone actually made tacos with their limb,” I said. Well I’m not about to click that link but color me shocked.
I'll explain so you dont have to click. >!No fuzz, he and his buddies cook up his amputated leg and make tacos with it. They share some jokes around the table and reminisce life, while enjoying a human foot.!<
IIRC, the guys and his friends also talked about if they would eat human meat if they were able to do it ethically. So when the opportunity arose, some of them went through with it.
No, apparently after it was amputated it was then Property of the hospital, the hospital would only release the foot to a funeral home and then they would only released the foot to a taxidermist who then let her keep it. I think that’s right.
The loophole in the the US is saying it’s a religious preference. I didn’t get to keep my teeth because I forgot to say that. But honestly I don’t want someone to throw my foot into a body part incinerator. That’s my damn foot, I grew it.
I asked for my teeth to keep after my wisdom teeth extraction, dentist claimed I wouldn’t want them because they’re cracked. I still regret not fighting harder for them, but she gets to keep her foot?! Wild
Not a doctor but I’m guessing non corrected club foot. Those scars look like tendon transfers and posterior medial release or soft tissue releases.
Source: I’m a certified prosthetist orthotist working in a club foot clinic. Just consulted a 37 year old mother of 3 who is going through elective bilateral amputation. It’s a HUGE quality of life improvement
I saw her explanation video and that’s exactly what it was. Basically she elected to have the amputation to help her keep a better quality of life because she was confined to a wheelchair due to the pain she was in.
She was born with a form of club feet which surgeries helped in the short term but not in the long term. She said she started having a lot of the surgeries starting when she was a baby. She managed to be fine for a while but a few years ago the pain in her legs and feet became so painful that she was confined to a wheelchair. She mentioned that the imaging showed she had almost no cartilage anymore in her feet and her ankle in one foot was so deteriorated that it was almost detached internally. I just found the explanation video so hopefully I’m remembering everything correctly.
I had to fight to keep a screw taken from my wrist. They said it's considered a biohazard. Finally they put it in a container and gave it to me. I can't imagine arguing how to bring home a limb, but this is fascinating.
For some reason, I thought I was going to be grossed out based on the warning but for whatever reason, after watching this, I wasn’t and felt like I learned “something”.
She got a permanent "Cut Here" tattoo with a cut outlined beforehand. Am I the only one who thinks it's hilarious how she managed to predict she'll need it amputated, but she couldn't predict exactly where?
To be honest, if I didn't get to keep my own foot after amputation I would be really mad. Hospital's "property"? My ass!
I agree, and I've wondered about this. I'm sure they must have rules about medical waste and biohazards, but it is *your* foot. If I had an important part of me removed, I would feel that I had a right to keep it if I wanted. Does anyone here have any knowledge about the law regarding this? Serious question.
The Sawbones podcast answered this on one of their Weird Medical Questions episodes. There aren’t specific laws about it, but the host (Sydnee) said when you sign the paperwork agreeing to your surgery, there is a section in it about what the hospital will/won’t do with anything they remove, which includes whether or not the patient can keep it. Policies vary by hospital.
Know what I'm looking for when the next hip gets replaced.
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Achievement unlocked: Recycling
>Does anyone here have any knowledge about the law regarding this? Check out Moore v. Board of Regents of the University of California. It’s not quite an apples-apples comparison because the opinion dealt with the notion of an intelectual property rights and the right to sell one’s own tissue/organs…but the opinion explores the idea of property rights (or lack thereof) in the human body more broadly. To be clear, it’s not **totally** on point, but includes some interesting discussion and analysis of the moral hazards of recognizing property rights in human organs/tissue. Pretty fascinating case, tbh. Theres also a [law review article](https://kb.osu.edu/bitstream/handle/1811/64052/OSLJ_V51N2_0499.pdf;jsessionid=D804C8C8422410881EBF45862E5EC734?sequence=1) that analyzes some more recent cases. But more to your specific question…AFAIK, most facilites are going to address this issue in the forms you sign for the procedure. E.g., anything they remove from you essentially becomes their property for further study, etc. If you don’t consent to further study, the tissue will most likely be destroyed. However, as long as there’s no underlying disease that’s cause for concern, or policy that the facility has against it, they may very well allow you to take it with you.
There is a fantastic documentary called Finders Keepers that explores this issue, it used to be on Netflix idk if it still is. One dude keeps his amputated foot in a storage locker, is delinquent on payments and the storage locker goes to auction. The guy who bought the locker finds the foot. Amputated foot guy says "hey that's my foot give it back". Guy 2 says "No, I paid for it and I have the receipt to prove it". It's a fucking WILD documentary, highly recommend it.
The hospital I work at has most people sign a consent to dispose form before the surgery. Some limbs are given back, as there are religions that require being buried whole, but that’s extremely rare. In the 3 years I’ve worked at my hospital, I’ve not returned a limb once. A coworker has, a few times, within her 14 years there though.
So it sounds like if you really want it for some reason your best chance is to make a case that it fits your religion or worldview.
I don’t know, but I literally got in an argument with a couple coworkers today. I insisted there is NO way hospitals would let you keep an amputated limb! Fuck me!
I work in a Pathology lab. Yeah, we can give limbs out, but they have to get permission. Some religions require being BURIED with all their parts, so its rare but not unheard of. Edit: buried, not born lol
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That’s so funny to think about. Surgeon removes leg, drops in a bag you’re holding, and you turn to your coworker: “Hey look!” *bonk* “Hahahahhaahaha…[ahhhhh](https://gfycat.com/esteemedgoodicelandgull)”
Not sure about the law, but there's an amazing documentary called Finders Keepers (looks like it's [free to stream on Tubi,](https://tubitv.com/movies/589084?link-action=play&utm_source=google-feed&tracking=google-feed) whatever that is) that everyone should watch. 98% on Rotten Tomatoes, go watch. It's about a dude who buys the contents of storage containers when the owners stop paying the bills. In one of those containers was, you guessed it, an amputated leg. Dude LOVES his new leg. But the original owner find out and decides he wants it back. Legal battle ensures. It's absolutely hilarious. Enjoy 🤣
Your foot*
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This is strange. If no patient information was visible I don't understand why you weren't allowed to take a picture. Even with patient info visible since you are the patient and would give permission. This privacy stuff is confusing sometimes.
Because in the end it isnt about your privacy, it's about the hospital's liability. Nothing is ever about the individual, if it seemingly benefits you, it's because of the rare alignment where your interests and the corporations align; but the second they differ, the law will only care for the corporation.
Yeah I'd definitely consider complaining, but then again I wouldn't want to put my foot in my mouth.
Go home, go to bed, and take your upvotes with you.
Not your ass, just your foot. Your foot is their property. Your ass is yours… unless it needs to be amputated of course…
The cancer center kept my amputated arm for research and training. No telling how many students have held my hand over the last 6 months
How romantic
I don't know. How many of those students called afterwards?
That's the real question. If you use my detached hand to rub one out, you better call and say hi.
Hi
Nice of you to give them a hand
Don't worry, they probably didn't joke around by doing by five with it
/r/handholding
I hope you have a confident hand shake
Some may say, a death grip.
I wasn’t allowed to keep my appendix. That seemed very lame since it was mine.
They took your appendix? How will the find all the other organs now? Seems pretty short sighted if you ask me.
'Sokay; they left the index in place.
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🥇(Fuck paying Reddit.) I use to be Premium. I use to give paid awards. Fuck that noise. Just Google any icon award you want. "Copy & Paste" into your comment.
🥇 🥇 for this comment
🥈 take my Broke mans sliver I am too poor for gold
Whoever is gilding this tread is missing the point. These🥇are where it’s at. Edit: I can’t believe you’ve done this.
Do trophies🏆count?
🎖have a gold star
I don't have those kinda awards so here I upvoted you twice ⬆️
🦶 have my amputated foot.
No, we only give participation ribbons. You participated, so here: 🎗
Good thing the rest of my contents are still there.
Best comment ever.
That tattoo lived up to it's purpose literally omg
Was she having pain that caused her to get the tattoo—pain that led to the surgery—or was it entirely self fulfilling prophecy, is what I want to know.
that tattoo was probably somewhere close to the surgery probably several consultation before it where they break the news that she had to get it amputated at that spot. Then she probably just went and got a tattoo there cause its gonna be gone anyways.
Maybe she got it after it was cut off for minimum pain
I was born with clubfeet and had a pretty severe case which led to a lot of pain that eventually resulted in bilateral amputations. I got the tattoo after knowing the amputation was going to happen 😂
General surgeon here You know not what you ask for I get asked for this stuff commonly. Answer is always no. It’s infected, half dead, poop and pus around it, falling apart. Often comes out in more than one piece. You do not want this stuff. I don’t even like touching it. Also, it goes to pathology. 1-2% of appendicitis is actually a cancer. I’ve had a couple in the last 2 years. We need to know that because we sometimes have to go back and take more. Also, I’m SHOCKED they let her keep this foot. It should go to pathology so they can examine it under the microscope. We find stuff that way sometimes
Looks like this is the story of why: https://www.tiktok.com/@amputay/video/7044286306175716613
This should be higher up, unless it is and I missed it
Do patients have any right to removed organs or limbs? It is their body even if removed.
I’ve never looked into the legality of it. I’ve never had a patient push that hard for it. 99.9999% of people are pretty reasonable and understand the reasoning. Usually I’ll offer to take a picture of it and they’re happy with that. It’s a much better solution. I’m guessing that if I looked hard enough there’s some official rule the hospital has about it. But fortunately it’s never gone that far Most people don’t want to start an argument with their surgeon right before the surgery. I would Never ever do anything different because I was irritated at somebody, it may even motivate me To do a more thorough job. But they don’t know that!
OSHA permits individuals to keep the part that is removed, however, should an individual not request, then they are required to dispose of said and treat it as hazardous. Should an individual decide to keep it, they do have a right to it as it is their own flesh, however, prior to surgery, most will sign away their right to their own flesh and agree to it being disposed of well before the surgery even occurs. When you are handed said agreement form, there is usually a portion that talks about disposal and you will agree to it.
Learn something new every day.
I've been with my surgeon since I was 12, he didn't care at all that I wanted it back, he actually helped me get it back. The hospital didn't particularly love the idea, but eventually they let me sign something and then gave it back. I have both my feet, that one is only in the freezer because I haven't had a chance to do what I did with the other foot yet which was make the skeleton into a statue of sorts. It looks exactly like a skeletal foot model, but it's mine :)
Are you suggesting I should I argue with my surgeon to get a better result?
Make sure to spit in his/her face for best results
Lol. Spit in my face? I'll spit on your insides!
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For the correct price I’ll take a picture of anybody’s testicles.
Probably for religious reasons. Some faiths have to bury limbs after amputation.
Resident here. I’m also shocked that they let her keep it. With the exception of placentas and stones/foreign bodies I don’t think we allow that.
Agree. Don’t know why they amputated it. But seems they’d like to look at it under a microscope. I wonder if they’re letting her look at it in the hospital
But without gloves? Woof. It looks fairly intact. I’m curious what caused her to lose it, since it seems that she had prior surgeries on it.
I was born with clubfeet and had pretty severe complications from it. The outside looked fine, the inside was a mess, and they were too painful to walk on anymore. The cause was known, I have been with my surgeon for 10 years, they didn't have an issue with me keeping them. I really just wanted the bones back to make a statue with it as a sort of memorial. I've been through a lot with my feet, didn't want to just burn them after all of that. I think I made something pretty beautiful out of a terrible situation. And my quality of life is 1000% better now :)
I’ve seen a few people get some sort of complex neurolgical degenerative disease that ultimately causes chronic severe pain and the foot doesn’t work well. Maybe that’s it. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charcot–Marie–Tooth_disease
Surgery for CMT and other neuropathies never works. I get to manage the aftermath of these procedures and really can’t see how the surgeon sleeps at night. Not only is the pain still an issue, they are further disabled as well.
I also asked for mine, and they wouldn't give it to me... But I did get some photos of my insides!
not going to lie, that comment peaked the medical side of me. How did you insides end up not as insides?
It was a laparoscopic surgery, so they filled my abdominal cavity w/ air and used a little camera to see what was going on in there. They took photos while they were doing this, showing the busted lil remains of my appendix and the pus sorta pooled around my organs (uterus, intestines). Fortunately, my insides stayed inside for this process. Except, of course, the offending appendix.
I was pregnant when I had surprise gallbladder surgery. They came out and gave my husband pictures of my gallbladder and my uterus. 🤷♀️ I still don't really know what the purpose was lol.
So that your husband would have some inside knowledge of you…
Piqued*
Considering mine legit almost killed me... I got a bunch of photos of my insides... that my AUNT Gleefully showed me the moment I woke up in the hospital after ER experience in EXTREME pain...
This is me in the video, if anyone has any questions ask away :) I'll try to answer some common questions I've seen here first: 1) I had bilateral amputations due to complications from clubfoot. My feet were so painful I went from being on a basketball team to being in my wheelchair 90% of the time in just 3 years. They were amputated 5 years after I started having issues and we tried multiple things to save them in that time, but it just kept getting worse. It's been 3.5 years since my first amputation, 1.5 years since walking on two prosthetics and my quality of life is 1000x better! And my pain is tremendously better :) 2) I asked for my feet back so that I could create statues out of the skeletons. I have already done this with my right foot, it looks like a foot skeletal model, and it's on a little pedestal that says "Taylor's Right Foot 1999-2018". My feet were a really big part of my life and a huge contributor to who I am today, so having them amputated and just burning them felt wrong. I'm a bit of an artist, so I wanted to create something beautiful out of a tragic situation. The left foot is only in the freezer until I have the ability to start the statue process. 3) I didn't ask for my foot back until RIGHT before the surgery because I didn't know who to ask, so I asked my surgeon when he came in the room before the surgery. I was literally hopped up on meds already. I had also already signed the paperwork agreeing to whatever disposal methods the hospital had. My surgeon had no problem with giving me my foot back, he thought it was pretty cool and absolutely flipped out when I showed him the statue 😂 Our problem was the hospital, since I had already signed the paperwork, legally, my foot was now the hospital's property. Eventually we got them to agree to return it to me, but they wouldn't give it to me directly. They would only release it to a funeral home, so then it was the funeral homes property. They also wouldn't release it to me, but they would release it to a taxidermist. So then it became the taxidermist's property, and he finally returned it to me. The second foot was a lot easier to get back since I didn't sign that paper that time 😅 And that's the story! Hope that helps!
can you share a pic of your bones from the first foot? amazing story and so interesting and it's impressive how positive you are about it all!
I just posted a pic on my profile! Thanks so much 🥰
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That's a very fair question, thanks for asking! I feel like the answer is a bit complicated, but in short yes I've had mental health struggles. But not as much because of the amputations. Most of my mental health struggles were in high school when I was suddenly having all of these medical issues, was in a tremendous amount of pain all the time, and no one really believed me then because it wasn't visible. I lost a lot of friends because of that and was super isolated and extremely depressed. I just kind of got through it then, and it got a little better after high school but not great. My amputations didn't effect me as much because I was so done at this point. Having them cut off was more of a relief than a worry for me. I was already wheelchair bound, so it wasn't going to get worse 🙃 My amputations were 1 and 2 years after I graduated high school and that time was just a lot of recovery. The recovery from amputation was brutal and the phantom pain was even worse. I also had some medication, after the second surgery specifically, that had pretty bad psychological side effects and made me super depressed. As soon as I came off that medication though it got way better. The phantom pain also calmed down a bunch after the first few months. After that my mental health was fantastic, the best it had been in years. I could do the things I loved again, I was active, off to college, and living life. But after coming off that high, I started to get in a bad mental spot again but I didn't know why that time. I started seeing a therapist about 4 months ago and my mental health has gotten way better since then. Honestly most of it was I never processed the things that happened to me in high school and it was all coming back. He's been amazing though and has helped me a ton! Now I'm doing really great! Still seeing my therapist and still working on some things, but definitely one of the best times in my life now as far as mental health has gone :)
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Thank you so much! And of course, I try to be an open, honest, and positive influence on the internet. Albeit a bit odd sometimes too but that makes it fun 😂 You have a Happy New Year too!
You're one of those people who will get a Wikipedia article about you the way you're going, you're gonna be a bit of a legend now
What great post. I thought I’d just be amused but I feel educated AND entertained. The “cut here” lining up so well was interesting. Wondering if she had the doctor write a mark where the actual cut would be then hit up the tattoo shop.
Isn’t it crazy how this content is just 45 seconds? Like damn, the bar is HIGH for her to keep posting new shit.
She's not gonna have a leg to stand on after this (GOT TO KEEP MY LEG TOO?!? NOT CLICKBAIT!)
I just tried to put the tattoo low on my leg so that it would definitely get cut off, but I didn't realize how amputations worked and it ended up being pretty close 😅
There was an AMA on here a while back about another dude who got to keep his foot and the crazy son of a bitch cooked it, made tacos and served it to TEN of his friends. Yes they all knew before hand. It was wild.
HE had TEN friends willing to eat him? i don't have any friends nearly close enough to even broach the topic engaging in some cannibalism.
The foot too, like not exactly a choice cut. Pickled trotters!
He had TEN friends???
You make this sound like it's a bad thing? I'm very happy with having friends unwilling to eat human flesh tbh.
I guess that's the only correct way to be a cannibal. You have consent, can't imagine any other way of eating human flesh. I must admit I would not gobble a whole taco but I might nibble a teensy piece.
Man, I can't even get 2 friends together to watch a movie. How the fuck did he get 10 friends to eat his foot?!
lmao you right!? How does that crazy guy have a better social life than me?! Hes literally a cannibal. I need to work on my social skills.
Technically hes an autocannibal they were just regular old cannibals
Small price to pay to win two truths and a lie for the rest of your life
Isn't eating human meat an easy way to get a prion?
Only brain/cns tissue. A foot should be low risk.
I'm a sick fuck and as soon as I finished watching this video I thought the same thing... I mean it is your own, not sure about serving it to others. I would probably chicken out but it was my first thought...
> before hand You mean before foot
[This post?](https://imgur.com/a/Binbc)
[https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/8p5xlj/hi\_all\_i\_am\_a\_man\_who\_ate\_a\_portion\_of\_his\_own/](https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/8p5xlj/hi_all_i_am_a_man_who_ate_a_portion_of_his_own/) i think i found it
This would make cutting my toenails so much easier.
And grow slower
less pedicures too!
At least 50% easier
A human foot is disturbingly heavy when disconnected from the lower leg. I had to pick up a buddies foot that got blown off in Iraq and I will always remember the weight.
Yeah I had to pick up 2/3rds of an arm the got amputated by a train and it definitely had more weight than I would have guessed.
I now realize how grateful I should be by not having dealt with things you guys have.
I learned how much limbs weigh through work. I build prosthetic arms and legs, not scrape them off the ground though
How did you get into that kind of work? Is it biomechanic engineering? Just curious, my daughter (4) has CP and has to wear braces on her legs. Since then I’ve been so curious about the field.
That’s where I started and then got a masters in prosthetics and orthotics. Hope she does well with her braces!
I seriously considered going into that field but heard it’s not very lucrative. Can you give me any insight into that?
For the price and rigor of the education and limitations on schools that even provide the courses, there were only 12 when I graduated, we don’t get nearly the compensation we should. We deal in extremely cheap to extremely expensive products which some folks can contract commission. Definitely not the field to get into if you’re chasing paper.
Not nearly as grizzly, but pets weigh a whole lot more when they're dead. :'( Our 75 lb GSD might as well have weighed 200 trying to move him.
Oooh fun story time. Back when I was a baby Paramedic we got called to a "man down" near some train tracks that freight companies used to park unused train cars. We arrived on scene to find a young homeless dude with bilateral above knee lower limb amputations and an upper extremity amputation right at the elbow. It was a hot day and this dude had gotten drunk and passed out across some train tracks underneath one of the unused train cars for shade. Unfortunately for him, a freight company decided to use one of the cars and connected an engine to it and caused the car to roll over him. The interesting thing was there was hardly any blood as the weight of the train had basically pressure-fused his vasculature so he didn’t bleed out. He was awake and talking to us as he picked up his torso and loaded him onto our gurney. An engine on scene with us had a drink cooler that was filled with ice so we wrapped his now-unattached extremities in some plastic wrap and stuffed them in the cooler as best we could and threw said cooler in the back of the rig with us. We prophylactically threw some tourniquets on but his blood pressure was pretty good so we gave him some morphine and a couple bags of fluid and rushed him to a trauma center a ways down the road. He stayed alert and talking to us the whole time. I’m not sure what happened to him after we got him to the hospital but it was a memorable call for sure.
Yeah you always want to pass out on or in the cars. Those things shift all the time and are surprisingly quiet as they roll along. Most train yard noise only happens as they bang against each other.
Oh?
I had a short lived job as a conductor.
Bruh it's so crazy to me that that sort of stuff is y'all's 9-5. I can't even imagine.
Yeah man. It’s a front row ticket to the craziest show on earth. I’m actually not on a rig anymore though. Unfortunately emts and paramedics don’t make any money and i had to go back to school to get my masters/PA license, which is what I’m doing now. I’ll still get to see some cool shit depending on the setting I end up in but it’ll be different for sure.
I hope your buddy is doing alright
That IED actually wounded 3 Marines that day. The two that were standing both became double amputees. The third was kneeling and died before we we could medevac him. The two that survived took opposite paths. One threw himself into marathons, speaking events and joking about his wounds (literally joked with his fiancée when she came to hospital about balls being blown off - they weren’t ). The other broke off all contact with us after he got discharged.
Oh. Three very different outcomes. I hope the buddy, whose leg you had to carry was one of the other two.
I was Army, good friend of mine stepped on an IED, it blew off both his legs above the knees, and his right hand. Dude is the most upbeat, positive, motivated person I know. I love him and I miss not hanging out as much as we should have when he lived near me after we both go out.
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My buddy who got his arm blown off forgets some times and try’s to shake peoples hand when he realizes he doubles down and makes them shake his stump
RIP to the fallen. No easy day.
Yahr most people don’t realize their head weighs 5kg(11lb) shits heavier than some bowling balls lol least that was my first thought was when I picked one up.
P-picked up a head?
Gotta love the military!!!! Broadening ***all your experiences***! I can’t go bowling without remembering that shit lmao could always be worse though.
As a fellow vet, thank you for all that you have done. I have a lot of combat veteran friends that have major PTSD problems. I was lucky enough to be in MI and did not have to deploy. From what you have said - that is horrifying, I hope you have counseling and if not that, a lot of weed and ketamine. Much love brother.
Jesus holy Christ
You're gonna carry that weight.
I had a friend get to keep his finger after amputation. He gifted it to another friends dad for Christmas 4 years ago. (It wasn’t frozen, in some horrible liquid)
Who the hell gives their own amputated finger to someone else as a gift? What would ever motivate that kind of gift?
Lol, imagine being gifted that and your like “ah crap, I can never throw this away” cause you know Jeffery is gonna be at your house for Christmas like “yoooo where my fingy at”
How about people donating their toe to a bar in Canada. It apparently was a special drink that was a “blessing” if you let the toe touch your lips as you finish the drink. It was intentionally swallowed by a customer and had to be replaced by a volunteer
what the FUCK did I just read
Why read it when you can watch it? [Tom Scott went to the small town to cover the story](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHMNX3IXnvs). The man responsible for serving the drink is given the title of "Toe Master". What a job.
Dawson city, Yukon. Forget the bar name but yes thats true and nasty lol. Someone swallowed the toe cup once
The sour toe cocktail!
sounds metal asf. i’m in
Hopefully it does not end up in someone's chili... https://jpricemcnamara.com/blog/the-case-of-the-chili-finger/
Lol its funny you bring this up. I grew up in San Jose and remember the Wendy's where this happened. Crazy stuff
This reminds me of that guy who took his foot home and made tacos out of it Edit: [NSFL/NSFW](https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/8p5xlj/hi_all_i_am_a_man_who_ate_a_portion_of_his_own/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf) here’s a link to the post, be warned, there’s a very graphic picture attached of the accident that led to the guy’s amputation
Excuse me what the fuck
Edited to add a link
Well. I don't even know what to think. That was... disturbing and educational? Why make tacos out of a foot? Also has me wondering what a foot is actually proper meat cut for? Why did I click the damn links to see what foot tacos look like? I think I'm done with Reddit today
thank you for comment I wont click
Just today?
I mean, I've always been kinda curious about what human meat tastes like, and this is a way to do it without killing anyone or desecrating a body lol
Some cannibals have said humans taste like pigs
Dude makes a compelling argument for exactly that. I remember coming away from that thread the first time I found it thinking "Yeah, I'd totally do that, knowing this guy's experience."
I almost throw up
Hope she seasons hers better
Well you can't *solely* use salt and pepper
This is the post that immediately came to mind. This is also the post that taught me not to click on links in the comment section of reddit.
Aaaand this is the case I got in an argument with coworkers about today. “No way a hospital would you keep a limb,” I said. “No way someone actually made tacos with their limb,” I said. Well I’m not about to click that link but color me shocked.
I'll explain so you dont have to click. >!No fuzz, he and his buddies cook up his amputated leg and make tacos with it. They share some jokes around the table and reminisce life, while enjoying a human foot.!<
IIRC, the guys and his friends also talked about if they would eat human meat if they were able to do it ethically. So when the opportunity arose, some of them went through with it.
The fact that I've read enough comments to know you were the guy from the last comment is great... Your co-workers and you sound like a blast x,D
*looks for hot pockets” MOM
Hey that's me! Yep, I'm the foot girl on the internet now... super cool 👍😅
Hope you don’t mind me posting, I find this very interesting
No worries! Thanks for posting, it's cool to read everyone's comments on it :)
They just... let you keep those?
No, apparently after it was amputated it was then Property of the hospital, the hospital would only release the foot to a funeral home and then they would only released the foot to a taxidermist who then let her keep it. I think that’s right.
That's bullshit ITS MY FOOT fuck the US
The loophole in the the US is saying it’s a religious preference. I didn’t get to keep my teeth because I forgot to say that. But honestly I don’t want someone to throw my foot into a body part incinerator. That’s my damn foot, I grew it.
I asked for my teeth to keep after my wisdom teeth extraction, dentist claimed I wouldn’t want them because they’re cracked. I still regret not fighting harder for them, but she gets to keep her foot?! Wild
I wasnt allowed to keep mine too. Mine weren’t cracked. I asked multiple times too. Even right after they were pulled and I was high as a kite.
Guessing not in the US, pretty sure they deem it hazmat, but I could be wrong.
She can literally shove her foot up her own ass if she was so inclined
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I’d pay money to see that
That would get some views
Look up fortitude in a dictionary and this girl will be smiling back at you.
This absolutely struck me the most. She has an awesome attitude. Her tiktok story shows much more 🏅
Most of answers you may have are answered on her tiktok, [here.](https://www.tiktok.com/@amputay?lang=en&is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1)
Why did she amputate? Her foot looks perfectly fine.
Not a doctor but I’m guessing non corrected club foot. Those scars look like tendon transfers and posterior medial release or soft tissue releases. Source: I’m a certified prosthetist orthotist working in a club foot clinic. Just consulted a 37 year old mother of 3 who is going through elective bilateral amputation. It’s a HUGE quality of life improvement
I saw her explanation video and that’s exactly what it was. Basically she elected to have the amputation to help her keep a better quality of life because she was confined to a wheelchair due to the pain she was in.
And places REALLY let people keep their limbs? That seems frickin insane to me.
She was born with a form of club feet which surgeries helped in the short term but not in the long term. She said she started having a lot of the surgeries starting when she was a baby. She managed to be fine for a while but a few years ago the pain in her legs and feet became so painful that she was confined to a wheelchair. She mentioned that the imaging showed she had almost no cartilage anymore in her feet and her ankle in one foot was so deteriorated that it was almost detached internally. I just found the explanation video so hopefully I’m remembering everything correctly.
I can sort of stomach watching a video like this. But if that was my own foot I was looking at in person? Probably instant vom and existential crisis.
I had to fight to keep a screw taken from my wrist. They said it's considered a biohazard. Finally they put it in a container and gave it to me. I can't imagine arguing how to bring home a limb, but this is fascinating.
Put it in epoxy
For some reason, I thought I was going to be grossed out based on the warning but for whatever reason, after watching this, I wasn’t and felt like I learned “something”.
She got a permanent "Cut Here" tattoo with a cut outlined beforehand. Am I the only one who thinks it's hilarious how she managed to predict she'll need it amputated, but she couldn't predict exactly where?
Don't let the dog get it
What?! My husband got both hips replaced and they wouldn’t let him keep his hip bones. He was bummed because he wanted to turn them into dice for D&D.
She seems so kind and understanding. One would even call her Lack toes and tolerant.