Chinese Farmer Saws Off His Own Leg. What Drove the Man to Such Extreme?

Zheng Yanliang is a farmer in the Hebei province, Northern China. Last April 2012, he decided to amputate his own leg.

He contracted an infection in his leg and soon, blood failed to circulate properly. He went to see a doctor who told Mr. Zheng that he will need an operation, which soon made the 47-year old farmer realized that he is facing yet another problem.

According to CNN, Mr. Zheng recalls, "The doctor said an operation on one leg would cost more than 300,000 yuan ($49,000, £30,000) and it would cost more than a million yuan if I had operations on both legs. I can't afford it. I only had 20,000 yuan." It was beyond the farmer's capacity to pay.

Despite being covered for certain medical treatment based on the rural province's heath care system, he still needed to pay up front and he could only claim a small portion of insurance back.

The story has already happened two years ago but the public is beginning to shed more light on the certain flaws China has with its health care system, especially to those who are living in the provinces and those who cannot afford it.

For countless months, the farmer had to endured insurmountable pain. His leg became black and things got worse for him. "There were maggots in the flesh. I could see the bone in my right leg. I felt sick when I saw it," he recalls. Since Mr. Zheng could not afford a full surgery for his infected leg, he decided to take matters into his own hands.

"I told my wife that I would saw it off. She wasn't happy about it. We had an argument and she went out," he says. He got a hacksaw and a knife and began the DIY surgery, which lasted for twenty minutes. He was conscious the entire time, biting on a stick to alleviate the pain.

His story caught the attention of many ordinary Chinese people that they were able to raise 300,000 yuan for Mr. Zheng. As of now, he is receiving free medical treatment for his amputated leg, which also became infected after his DIY surgery.

While he is being looked after now, Mr. Zheng worries about the future. "I don't have income. I hope the government or the hospital will look after me. What if I get sick?"