IAmA amputee who was part of an international news story in 2007 when a man found my mummified leg in a barbecue grill, then tried to turn it into a tourist attraction, and sued me for custody of it. AMA

DO YOU HAVE THE LEG??? IM SO CURIOUS!!!

YES! I hid it in my golf bag a couple years and it is now in OHIO being "bonefied".

dude, you're really bad at choosing hiding spots for that thing. First a grill, and then a golf bag?

ha ha, I totally understand that, however, where is a good hiding spot for a human leg?

Like the bone decomposed and now they have to replace it?

What I got back from the hospital was my whole leg, five toes, hair and all! The bone is being preserved now.

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We can't rule out a leg lamp so quickly.

ha ha

Not a real question I apologise, but have you ever laughed at the situation? ( I mean no offence. It just seems very surreal looking at the story from the outside)

I have both laughed and cried simultaneously.

The article says you lost the leg in a plane crash. I'm assuming this was a small prop plane and not a commercial flight. Were you the pilot and how/why did the plane go down?

Crazy story, btw.

My Father's Cessna 182 Skylane. Carb icing was the cause of the crash in which every male in my family was in that plane. My Father died instantly.

I'm sorry for your loss

I appreciate those kind words

What is carb icing?

Carburetor icing happens when atmospheric conditions cause ice to form in the bowl of the engine. It makes an engine choke down with restricted fuel flow.

http://flighttraining.aopa.org/images/ft_magazine/article_art/0805carb_illo.jpg

There's a good illustration. It's emphasized fairly heavy in pilot training and there are definite signs if it's happening. Going down due to carb icing is usually pilot error (carb-equipped 182s have a carb heat knob that when pulled diverts air heated from the exhaust manifold into the carb instead of the cool ambient air, thereby preventing icing although decreasing engine performance due to the fact that hot air is less dense than cool air so there is less oxygen for the engine to burn).

Regardless, modern planes are now fuel injected and it's a non-issue (although people are still flying 40+ year old 182s).

1957 Skylane N4744D We ran into a sudden weather front in the NC mountains.

Would you rather have $500,000, or have your fully functional leg miraculously reattached to your body?

prosthetics are great these days. So, I'll take the 500 grand..

What's your relationship like with this Shannon guy now? Who has the leg?

Well, truth is, Shannon is my nemesis. I really don't talk with him at all, but yet we are still connected. Bizarre right?

but... who has the leg? and what did you plan on doing with the leg?

I am picking it up soon. It is being DE fleshed and the bone encased for display. I want to put it on my wall with some of my Dad's ashes and a piece of the airplane we were in.

Every have anybody recognize you in the street from the news story?

Doing an episode of Urban Legends, a leg in a grill on "The Family Guy " and Jimmy Kimmel, Wolf Blitzer, Fox and Friends, Good Morning America etc...This story has "LEGS" for sure. lol

Yes! The first couple years I thought I was famous. Turns out I am just NOTORIOUS! lol Being the topic of discussion for Robin Meade and Headline news for 6 months, it was hard to hide from it.

How can a part of a person be purchased? That does not make sense to me- if it is a part of a living person, then that person should maintain ownership.

That was the 64 thousand dollar question posed to Judge Mathis. The winning bidder ( Shannon ) maintains he bought the leg as part of the auction. It was in a smoker grill he bought.

Sure, I understand that- but if he bought a storage unit that had a whole dead person in it, he would not be allowed to keep that person, surely? I have read about a case where an elderly woman had her mother in storage - preserved in a coffin- for 13 years before it was discovered.

You and I and 60 million others feel the same way. The Judge felt differently. This case set legal precedence it that area as I understand from legal blogs.

I am sorry to hear it. That Judge is foolish. Now, if I buy a house and find a skull in it, the skull is mine. What if I find a body buried on my property? Do I have to pay to have it removed, or does the state have to pay if no one claims it?

People are not property, not even parts of people.

Not sure where Judge Mathis got his basis for this ruling. The blogs I have read from Medical and Real Estate attorneys and professors pretty much agree that should not be the ruling, but it was.

First of all, Mathis is a judge and you aren't so there's that (not trying to be rude). Secondly, and the guy above me mentioned this, when you buy something in an "as is" basis, you buy it with whatever is there. For example, if you buy a car and an expensive antique is in it, the antique is yours regardless of previous owner error. If you buy a smoker and there is a bar of gold in it, the gold is yours. I believe the judge made the right call following the laws of most states. Lastly, it's also your fault that you 1) put a leg in a smoker (wtf, food goes there) and 2) didn't pay your storage fess

Not according to UCLA law professors. There are medical laws that come into play. I realize my part in this, but a human leg is not a bar of gold. I did not take it to Chicago to the show.

This might be a dumb question, but why take it to Judge Mathis who is not a real judge, instead of someone like Judge Judy who was a real judge/lawyer.

I was the defendant in the case. Judge Mathis producers told me that he is a real Judge and he retired from Michigan State court. The verdict was legal and binding. I received travel expenses, a little pocket money and dinner at the Weber Grill Steakhouse.

This is a story I have to hear.. how did it end up mummified?

Very good question. I did it myself. Soaked it in embalming fluid for two weeks and put it in a possum trap to dry for 6 months in the Carolina summer sun.

Ah, the good ol' method of mummifying a limb using the possum trap method. Good to know it's still in use.

Seriously though, that's really creative thinking.

My friends wanted me to bring it to Charleston SC and put it in a crab trap, eat the crabs and then squirt it off at the car wash to get it down to the bone. That is what I was really wanting back from the hospital, the skeletal remains.

Why did you do that?

at the time, I wanted to be cremated whole.

why the possum trap?

I didn't think any critters could get to it. ( ironically, it worked ) keeps critters in, so it must keep critters out right?

That's crazy, just wanted to preserve the memory or what? Thanks for doing the AMA =) and congratulations on having what might be one of the most interesting titles on Reddit.

Thank to you for stopping by. Good questions!

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some might say it had dry rub..

What are your thoughts and reservations about your story being turned into a documentary? Are you done with production? If so, do you know when it will come out?

I have no creative control on this. It is half complete though and I am just as curious as the rest of the world as to how they will tell this most bizarre tale. They are trying to finish it now on KickStarter.

Can you give us the ten cent summary? And how did you find out about the "tourist attraction?"

I got a call from Maiden NC police and was advised my leg had been auctioned and they had recovered it for me. The rest of the storyI heard on CNN and Fox News like everyone else.

This happened in my hometown about 3minutes from my house. Craziest situation ever but I was glad you got your leg back! I was a little disturbed for awhile when eating at the subway right by it. Haha

$5 footlong?

I am 2 days late to this so I doubt you'll ever see it, but I was reading your BBC story and then read that you live in Greenville now and did a quadruple-take since I live there. Nothing interesting happens here!

I am here! I will answer anything. Yes, I actually lived behind the Hejaz Golf Course in Mauldin

What else was in the storage room besides your leg and a smoker?

everything I owned. family heirlooms, a house full of Ethan Allen furniture, extensive tool collection, guns, Nascar collectibles, a motorcycle. It was all sold.

I understand that this man technically "bought" your leg and its disgusting that he's making money off it. However do you know how much money he's made off it?

Judge Mathis verdict was $5,000.

So how's your situation now?

I continue to heal in mind, body and spirit.

you still haven't told us how the leg wound up in the grill...

I put it in there. read above^

How did it end up in a grill?

I put it in there. It was a heavy steel enclosure and I thought it would be safe.

The news story was written in 2007. What's happened since the story was written?

Since appearing on the Judge Mathis Show, I have been focusing on my recovery from addiction. Keeping that first in my life has enabled me to start my professional career again. I recently got my credentials in Heating and Air Conditioning. Tooling up and starting my own biz....Carolina Air Corps. It also has allowed me to finish this documentary. lol

Mr Wood. I LOVED The King of Kong. brought back so many memories and you filmed it superbly. Thank you for making this documentary.

Might want to re-read his post.

might want to enlighten me instead of being pretentiously observant.

OP had nothing to do with King of Kong. He's just the subject of a new documentary being done by the guy who did.

thats fine, i will give him credit for it anyway.

this documentary is in very capable hands.