Images: Man amputates own legs because he couldn't afford hospital bills

When Zheng Yanliang, a farmer in Hebei Province with savings worth about 20,000 yuan, found that it would cost 1 million yuan (about $154,000) plus a 300,000 deposit for an attempt to cure his leg condition, he gave up on professional medical services and took a knife and hacksaw to his damaged limbs.

Both of Zheng’s legs were affected with a stroke-like symptom that caused massive clotting and were destroying the limbs, the state-run Global Times reported. This was highly debilitating as he was the breadwinner in his family before being diagnosed with the condition in 2012.

The embolism had progressed to the point that Zheng’s bones were visible and maggots were crawling out of the rotting flesh.

In April 2012, without telling anyone, Zheng bit hard on a towel and spent fifteen minutes sawing off his right leg.

He succeeded in removing his leg, but in the process broke his saw and lost four molars from biting too forcefully on the towel. The next day, his left leg began to separate starting from the ankle.

Zheng’s story received widespread media coverage, and he eventually received enough donations to have him amputate his remaining leg in a Beijing hospital.