# Is this guy for real? WTF?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-guy-for-real-wtf/74106
**Category:** The BBQ Pit
**Created:** [July 28, 2001, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-guy-for-real-wtf/74106 "2001-07-28T20:51:09Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@bernse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bernse)
#### Post date: [July 28, 2001, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-guy-for-real-wtf/74106/1 "2001-07-28T20:51:09Z")
[http://www.cutoffmyfeet.com/](http://www.cutoffmyfeet.com/)
Wants to cut his own legs off LIVE ON THE INTERNET
with a home-made GUILLOTINE.
Has this been investigated at all? Is this shit for real?
Someone please stop the internet… I want to get off now.
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### Author:  [@Nymysys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nymysys)
#### Post date: [July 28, 2001, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-guy-for-real-wtf/74106/2 "2001-07-28T21:09:51Z")
Oh. My. God.
Having just browsed without listening to any of the discussions, I’m still at a loss to find words that are both pithy and express my absolute horror.
I mean, it takes all kinds, but do we have to be subjected to them all?
Goodness.
I need to go curl up with my blankie now. And my Winnie-the-Pooh.
[sub]Mommy, I need a hug.[/sub]
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### Author:  [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)
#### Post date: [July 28, 2001, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-guy-for-real-wtf/74106/3 "2001-07-28T21:12:01Z")
Well, to be fair to the guy, he’s doing it because he’s paralyzed from the knees down, and would be able to walk and run again with prosthetics, and this was apparently his best chance for funding the whole thing. Yeah, it’s odd, but not as odd as the cases of apotemnephilia that have been discussed here once or twice. I seem to recall seeing a thread with a link to a webpage of a woman who wanted to cut off her arms (with numerous mentions of the exact brand of prosthetics she was planning on getting). Now that was freaky. This doesn’t seem as bad.
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### Author:  [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)
#### Post date: [July 28, 2001, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-guy-for-real-wtf/74106/4 "2001-07-28T21:18:05Z")
What was that website again, about the DOUBLE STEEL DORRANCE HOOKS??? or something like that?
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### Author:  [@bernse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bernse)
#### Post date: [July 28, 2001, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-guy-for-real-wtf/74106/5 "2001-07-28T21:25:10Z")
I am not a Doctor (not that I have ever claimed or been mistaken as one before either…)
BUT is it possible to be paralyzed from the **knees down**? I mean that just sounds kind of odd with my albiet limited medical knowledge… I would think his legs in general would be paralyzed, not?
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### Author:  [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)
#### Post date: [July 28, 2001, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-guy-for-real-wtf/74106/6 "2001-07-28T21:41:58Z")
Here was a previous discussion on apotemnophilia: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=51200](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=51200)
Can’t find the woman who wanted the elaborately named prosthetics.
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### Author:  [@Protesilaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Protesilaus)
#### Post date: [July 28, 2001, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-guy-for-real-wtf/74106/7 "2001-07-28T22:45:27Z")
[Here’s](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=69740) a thread about her and her TWIN BODY-POWERED PROSTHESES WITH DORRANCE #5X STAINLESS STEEL HOOKS.
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### Author:  [@lno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lno)
#### Post date: [July 28, 2001, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-guy-for-real-wtf/74106/8 "2001-07-28T23:38:35Z")
I really don’t see a problem with this.
He’s paralyzed from the knees down, and his insurance company won’t cover the amputation and prosthetics because they’re not a necessary procedure. So, he’s going to handle both aspects himself – amputating his feet with a homemade guillotine, and buying the prosthetics with the proceeds from the webcast.
It’s not an insurance scam, it’s not an amputee-fetish where people cut off _working_ arms and legs because of an unusual desire, and he’s very upfront about what the whole thing is about.
There are a few things that I’m just a little hesitant about before I say “Hey, knock yerself out.”[ul][li]He wants 200,000 people to sign up at $20 a pop - that’s $4,000,000 he wants to raise. That’s a whole lotta money.[_]If he doesn’t raise enough money for the prosthetics, will he call it off? And if so, will he return the money he raised?[_]If he raises more money than he needs, what will he do with the excess? Pro-rate the surplus back to the viewing audience? Take a trip around the world? This isn’t that much of an issue, since he’ll have gone through with it, and people will have gotten their morbid entertainment for their $20.I’m not exactly a skilled physician, but one would suspect that crude self-amputation is gotta be a dangerous procedure. How’s he going to deal with the immediate aftermath? The webcast would sorta suck if the audience watched him bleed to death (although they’d get a lot more than they bargained for with their $20)[/ul]On the whole, this isn’t hurting anyone, he seems to be of sound mind, and if it all goes as planned, he’ll be able to walk again.[/li]
Still, it **is** sorta creepy.
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### Author:  [@lno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lno)
#### Post date: [July 28, 2001, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-guy-for-real-wtf/74106/9 "2001-07-28T23:40:53Z")
Hm, the FAQ that I missed the first time answers one of my questions:
> [@](#):
>
> Q: What are you going to do for pain management prior to your amputation? (submitted by J Bryant)
> A: I’m hoping that a doctor will be on-site to administer a local anesthetic in each leg to cover the initial pain. Later, at the hospital, further pain treatment will be administered if needed.
> …
> Q: Aren’t you worried about losing too much blood or about bleeding to death?
> A: Not really. People get in accidents everyday where they lose an arm or a leg or a finger. Most of the time, that person will pick up the missing limb or digit, throw it in a ziploc bag and head to the hospital. Today’s technology enables most of the dismembered parts to be reattached. I don’t see how this is all that different.
Well, knock yerself out.
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### Author:  [@Diane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diane)
#### Post date: [July 28, 2001, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-guy-for-real-wtf/74106/10 "2001-07-28T23:56:18Z")
> [@](#):
>
> Today’s technology enables most of the dismembered parts to be reattached.
Wouldn’t it be funny in a sick kind of way if someone gathered up his legs and the hospital sewed them back on while he was knocked out from shock.
Sounds kinda scammy to me.
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### Author:  [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2001, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-guy-for-real-wtf/74106/11 "2001-07-29T02:20:55Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by bernse \*
> I am not a Doctor (not that I have ever claimed or been mistaken as one before either…)
>
> BUT is it possible to be paralyzed from the **knees down**? I mean that just sounds kind of odd with my albiet limited medical knowledge… I would think his legs in general would be paralyzed, not?
Yes, it is possible. It all depends are where the nerves stop functioning. If you sever a nerve halfway down your leg the part above retains sensation/movement and the part below is numb/paralyzed.
I do think we live in a fucked-up society where, in order to maximize the use of his body this man apparently has to perform his own self-amputation.
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### Author:  [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2001, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-guy-for-real-wtf/74106/12 "2001-07-29T03:55:16Z")
It’s not so much I think it’s sick because the man wants prosthesis…but him doing it HIMSELF…that’s scary!
Like a guy I saw on Jerry Springer, who attempted to do his own sex change, cutting off his own penis. I mean, whatever, but, wouldn’t it be better left to professionals?
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### Author:  [@PotLuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PotLuck)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2001, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-guy-for-real-wtf/74106/13 "2001-07-29T09:05:38Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Diane \*
> **Wouldn’t it be funny in a sick kind of way if someone gathered up his legs and the hospital sewed them back on while he was knocked out from shock.**
It would be downright hilarious – I was thinking the same thing. I wonder, would original webcast subscribers get to see the next amputation at a discount?
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### Author:  [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2001, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-guy-for-real-wtf/74106/14 "2001-07-29T12:39:25Z")
Gotta love the USA health care system.
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### Author:  [@tiny\_ham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiny_ham)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2001, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-guy-for-real-wtf/74106/15 "2001-07-29T13:26:01Z")
[QUOTE]
\*Originally posted by LNO \*
[li]If he doesn’t raise enough money for the prosthetics, will he call it off? And if so, will he return the money he raised?[/li][/QUOTE]
This guy was on the Buzz Killman show on Friday and he said that if he doesn’t raise the money, he will return it… Your subscription comes with that guarantee. I think he only has like 14,000 so far, so, quite a ways to go.
jarbaby
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### Author:  [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2001, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-guy-for-real-wtf/74106/16 "2001-07-29T15:25:31Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Muffin \*
> \*\*Gotta love the USA health care system. \*\*
I take it then that this operation would be covered by another country’s health care system? I was under the impression that the US was one of the places most likely to cover not really necessary medical procedures.
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### Author:  [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2001, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-guy-for-real-wtf/74106/17 "2001-07-29T16:04:18Z")
Diane said
> [@](#):
>
> Wouldn’t it be funny in a sick kind of way if someone gathered up his legs and the hospital sewed them back on while he was knocked out from shock
Then **Cajo** said
> [@](#):
>
> I was thinking the same thing. I wonder, would original webcast subscribers get to see the next amputation at a discount?
Nah! Did you get a reduced price to see _Halloween 2, or 3 or…_? Now, if the guy did a matinee performance, maybe. 😃
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### Author:  [@Gomez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gomez)
#### Post date: [July 29, 2001, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-guy-for-real-wtf/74106/18 "2001-07-29T16:21:07Z")
> [@](#):
>
> I take it then that this operation would be covered by another country’s health care system? I was under the impression that the US was one of the places most likely to cover not really necessary medical procedures.
I think it would be covered under Englands National Health Service. Maybe that’s why it’s in such a state.
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### Author:  [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)
#### Post date: [July 30, 2001, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-guy-for-real-wtf/74106/19 "2001-07-30T03:31:17Z")
I’ll ask **dr\_mom\_mcl** , but I’m pretty sure it would be covered by Canada’s medicare system too.
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### Author:  [@minty\_green](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minty_green)
#### Post date: [July 30, 2001, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-guy-for-real-wtf/74106/20 "2001-07-30T04:26:07Z")
I’ll believe it when I see it. And by “it,” I mean his severed feet chucked in the bottom of a trashcan. At which point, I’ll happily applaud the guy for his guts, as opposed to my current p.o.v. that he’s a complete troll.
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