Taking health into your own hands

News yesterday of the British man who had experienced pain in his hand for 16 years following a motorbike accident. Despite treatment his hand caused him so much pain he asked doctors to " cut it off" I guess we have all felt sore enough that we have wanted to cut off offending part - certainly I had a leg I would happily have lost last year - sometimes now. For our man Mark this was not a passing thought. He begged NHS to amputate his hand but was refused. So in desperation he built a guillotine in his garden Pretty sure Monsieur Guillotin would not want his name associated with this piece of DIY. Not only does it look terrible BUT it didn't work. Had to use a knife to finish off the job. And just to make sure he burnt the hand.

Saddest news of all - he still has pain - now presumably phantom limb pain.

We talk about self management for people with arthritis - this isn't part of our advice!!