A Canadian man received the latest Christmas stuffing – the articulated bones of his leg that he lost in a motorcycle accident, according to a report.
Justin Fernandes, 24, of Toronto, was on his way home from work in July, when he lost his right foot in the horrific accident that led to months of painful rehabilitation, CTV News reported.
He decided to keep his limbs as a symbol of the hardships he had overcome since that fateful day.
“That was practically my closure,” Fernandes told reporters in a telephone interview, adding that he had only recently started working again. “That’s how I wanted to be sad.”
After the accident, Fernandes posted a message on a taxidermy site – and the Prehistory Center for Natural History in downtown Toronto responded.
“I didn’t know him when the incident happened.” but through this process we got to know each other quite well and it became a kind of adoption of our family here at the museum, ”PNHC chief Ben Lovatt told CTV News.
The center mostly handles animal skeletons for display and pet memories, which often require the bones to be replaced.
But Lovatt and his team decided to help Fernandes achieve his dream – and for free.
“Everyone is recovering in their own way from a tragic incident,” Lovatt told reporters.
“And this incident was a hit and a run that left him almost bleeding to death on the side of the road. So he tried to find a way to have closure, a way to feel whole again, and that was a unique way to do that, ”he added.
“In fact, I heard that he came to a taxidermy studio that quoted him $ 15,000 to make his leg. Now, for a frame of reference that should bring you $ 15,000 in bone training, I would charge so much to take an entire dead whale off a beach, break it to the bone, and mount it. ” said Lovatt.
“So yes, it was a pretty outrageous request for so much money. So for us, it seemed like something we could give back, “he explained.
Fernandes said he needs to get a special waiver to free his own leg.
“If you can imagine this, I’m just in this hospital, I don’t even have a prosthetic leg at the moment, just jumping in, I’m stuck in bed and sending 100 emails and dozens of phone calls everywhere,” he said. he.
Lovatt also had to prove to the hospital that his center could handle the delicate matter.
“We presented evidence that we could do it safely and in a clean room, and in terms of the ethics board issues they had, we showed them the work we’ve done in the past.” , he told CTV News.
He said that “they showed them that our intention was to offer a clean and beautiful piece that would help him reconnect and heal from his trauma, as opposed to making a strange show out of it.”
Once he received the green light, Fernandes had to find a funeral home to transport his foot to the PNHC – a significant task during the coronavirus pandemic.
“He picks it up, it’s in a box, it’s wrapped, he has stickers everywhere – he looks crazy,” he said.
Lovatt said he and his team then removed all soft tissue from the limbs and used peroxide to stabilize and whiten the bones “to ensure that the resulting finished product will actually be sterile and safe.”
Last week, Fernandes came to see – and hold – his leg after months of hard work.
“It was the first time I kept my whole leg re-wound – it was unreal,” he said. “I have to remember, ‘Hey, this is your leg, you went for it.’ It’s hard.”
Despite the initial resistance of his relatives, who described Fernandes’ decision as “morbid”, he did not regret his choices.
“For me, transforming that morbid and sad object that people would have thrown away and forgotten, I wanted to turn it into art in essence and that’s what I see, when I see it, art. I think it’s beautiful, “he told reporters.
“You get sad anyway, you think it’s the right way to grieve. It is your loss, “he added. “Two months ago, I couldn’t even walk. It takes a lot of willpower, but it can be done. This is not the end. Your life is not over. “