Originally published April 11 2014
Man amputates own arm after British medical system refused to help
by J. D. Heyes
(NaturalNews) A British man who said hospitals were refusing to perform an operation for him wound up severing his own hand, according to reports.
The man, Mark Goddard, 44, of Newton Abbot in Devon, told media that he had suffered from excruciating nerve pain in his left arm following a motorcycle accident some 16 years ago. According to reports, Goddard said he found himself with little choice but to cut his own hand off after hospitals refused to do it for him.
"I should not have to go to such extremes to get my pain stopped," Goddard told Metro UK. "There was an alternative -- and that was having it done properly in hospital."
According to the report, Goddard built a small guillotine-like device using an axe in his backyard in order to perform the amputation, according to a photograph published by Australian media. But it did not do the job completely; Goddard was forced to use a knife to complete the process.
Once complete, he said he tossed his amputated hand into a fire, so doctors could not reattach it. Later, reports said he was rushed to a hospital and treated for loss of blood.
"There should never have been any need for me to do this," Goddard said. "It would have spared so much distress all round, but it was the only way. At least it will give me and my family our lives back."
'Not crazy'
Goddard said he still has a great deal of pain in the remainder of his arm, but that he is hoping to have additional portions of his arm removed -- but properly, in a hospital. If not, he says he'll complete the amputation himself.
Is he crazy? Apparently not; Britain's Metro reported that Goddard said he had undergone a number of psychiatric evaluations and passed each of them.
A spokesman from the Devon and Cornwall Police confirmed the incident to the Mid Devon Gazette.
"Police received a call from the ambulance service to say a man had cut his hand off. We were concerned he might have a knife and be a risk to himself or others," the spokesman said. "Units attended and upon arrival a 44-year-old man had indeed cut his hand off. He was otherwise rational. The hand was badly burnt and was in a bin. Officers attempted to save the hand but it was badly damaged."
With any luck, Goddard, a former mechanic, won't have to resort to self-amputation to complete his pain-relief effort.
"I've told them that if nothing is done, I will take the arm off above the elbow myself," Goddard told the Mid Devon Gazette. "I've given them until the end of December."
The New York Daily News reported that Goddard takes a daily cocktail of 40 pain medications and is seeking a spinal implant that could help ease the pain.
Sources:
http://www.myfoxny.com
http://www.news.com.au
http://science.naturalnews.com
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