Farmer cuts off his own feet after being unable to afford frostbite treatment

A farmer from Anhui was forced to amputate his own feet because he could not afford 10,000 yuan for hospital surgery, after suffering untreatable infections brought on by frost-bite.

Liu Dunhe, a villager from a small town in Anhui province, 44, used “shards of broken glass” to amputate his feet after suffering unbearable pain, reported.

Liu suffered frost-bite to both feet last winter after tending to his farm bare-footed, but did not pay attention to the ailment at first. His condition quickly deteriorated and his feet soon became swollen, infected and the tissue eventually began to rot – inflicting tremendous pain.

When he visited a local hospital and was told he needed surgery to amputate both feet that cost over 10,000 yuan, Liu decided to take measures into his own hands and attempt the operation himself.

Liu, who doesn’t have a family and lives by himself, carried out the operation, which he described as “six hours of torment”, in secrecy.

“I used the glass to repeatedly cut through my muscle tendon. It was astonishingly painful,” he was cited recalling the gruesome process.

“I had to swallow some alcohol to try to anesthetise myself when I couldn't stand the pain [during the process],” he told the newspaper but added the amputation “was a release”.