| August 24, 1986 was a bad day for Paul Morgan (aka "Freck"),
from Biloxi, Mississippi. An 18-year-old high school student
with a scholarship to West Point already secured, he was returning
home after a day of boating with friends... when he fell off the back of
their pick-up truck and was run over by the boat trailer they were towing.
Several nerves in his spinal cord were injured, leading to
partial paralysis of his legs below the knee
and total paralysis below the ankles.
After extensive surgery (including the removal of a kidney) and
rehabilitation,
Freck regained the ability to walk with the help of leg
braces, but he wants a new pair of hydraulic
prosthetics that would allow him to walk naturally and
even run again. Unfortunately, these prosthetics cost $200,000*
and are not covered by Medicare or Medicaid. So what's a savvy
guy like Freck going to do? The answer seemed obvious:
He will amputate his feet with a guillotine and broadcast the
operation live on the Internet.
And, of course, sell webcam access at $20 a pop. The current
target date is November 30, 2001
January 5, 2002 once he gets enough money, and he is hoping to get 200,000
viewers. (As of mid-August 2001, 10 people had signed up.)
Take a look at www.cutoffmyfeet.com for the full scoop,
including schematics of the guillotine, video clips of Freck,
T-shirt offers, truly disturbing cartoon art of chopped-off feet,
and a candid FAQ:
Q: Are you insane?
A: No, I am not insane. This is something that I've thought through very
carefully. But for all of you who still doubt, I plan to have a full
psychiatric evaluation done to prove that I'm completely sane.
*According to News of the Weird (26.8.2001), but I couldn't
confirm this figure on his website -- he does, however, note that the
prosthetics manufacturer wanted all mention of their name removed...
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