posted on September 21, 2001 09:04:38 PM
(this story comes from an IP news feature that isn't linkable, sorry)
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Man to Cut Off Feet on Web
Reuters
LUMBERTON, Miss. (Aug. 30) - A disabled Mississippi man said on Wednesday he was planning to amputate his feet with a homemade guillotine and broadcast the procedure live on the Internet to raise money for new prosthetic legs.
Paul Morgan, a 33-year-old student who was paralyzed below the knees after falling out of a truck in 1986, seized upon the idea after his insurance company refused to pay to have his lower legs amputated and fitted with titanium prosthetic devices.
Morgan, an avid sportsman before his accident, said the surgery and prosthetics would allow him to walk normally and resume his love of running and water sports.
Morgan needs about $150,000 to cover the cost of the prosthetics, follow-up surgery and rehabilitation. Only 20 people so far have agreed to pay $19.99 to watch the Oct. 31 broadcast on Morgan's web site, http://www.cutoffmyfeet.com.
''People are still a little bit skeptical, but that should change once I have the guillotine built,'' said Morgan, who is building a 12- to 15-foot stainless steel device modeled on those used to chop off heads during the French Revolution.
Morgan, a resident of Lumberton, Mississippi, about 60 miles northwest of Biloxi, said the amputation would occur near his ankles and that further surgery would be required to remove the rest of his lower legs.
Conceding that most of his family was opposed to the idea, Morgan said he would use tourniquets to stem bleeding from the amputation and noted that medical personnel would be on scene in the event of an emergency.
A spokeswoman for Mississippi Attorney General Mike Moore said state officials had been in touch with Morgan's lawyer about the matter.
''We have heard about this and we have contacted his attorney because we are concerned,'' said Nancy East, Moore's spokeswoman.
East said the state had offered to have Morgan evaluated by a surgeon in Jackson, the state capital, if Morgan agreed not to go ahead with the amputation.
East said the Internet amputation could violate a number of state laws, including a mayhem statute and laws protecting consumers from fraud.
posted on September 21, 2001 09:20:26 PM
I believe he would do better if he charged by the foot rather than the pair.
There is not a great deal of time remaining to get this story out prior to Oct. 31. Additionally, the events of the past ten days have probably removed any of the attraction that this event may have held for potential "viewers".
posted on September 21, 2001 09:23:47 PM
Can someone tell me if this thread is double posted? On my thread menu I'm seeing this a blank spot with no title, just a "new" icon and 3 replies ... and no matter what I do, I can't open the phantom thread (because there's no title to click on).
When I first tried to post this thread it got sent into some AW twilight zone, sort of a non-forum. It was very odd. Didn't show up on the menu afterwards either. So I reposted it. Now I'm wondering if the phantom thread is the predecessor of this one.
posted on September 21, 2001 09:27:28 PM
You're seeing the blank title and originator space? But it has 6 replies. How can others be replying to it yet we can't see it?
posted on September 21, 2001 09:38:10 PM
Guess that was the "Bin Laden Sighted" thread? Last night a thread appeared in RT for about the length of a heartbeat before the mods chop-chopped it. Posted by someone called "conspirator." The title was something like, "how about these conspiracy theories" or something like that, and it contained links to sites which apparently offered alternate explanations for the events of September 11. I didn't check out the links mainly because topic didn't interest me, but like I said, the thread was WOMD within the space of a minute anyway. I'd be curious to know why.
posted on September 21, 2001 09:49:14 PM
The thread was eliminated because the thread contained the truth.
On topic, that guy ought to be here in California. Our state hospitals have bi-annual two for one sales on amputations with large discounts on the prosthetics required afterward. It's always very popular and people wait months writhing in pain and risking their lives from Gangreneous loss of circulation for those sale events. Many visitors to the state mistake their howls of agony for the sound of the ocean breezes on the ridgetops along the coast.
