A Wisconsin nurse accused of amputating a dying frostbite patient’s foot without permission – and allegedly telling coworkers she would display the body part in her family’s taxidermy shop – has been criminally charged.
Mary K. Brown (38), was last week charged with the physical abuse of an elderly person and intentionally causing great bodily injury and mayhem. WQOW obtained a criminal complaint that Brown was a Hospice Nurse at Spring Valley Health and Rehab Center, Spring Valley. Brown was responsible for caring for the unnamed 62 year-old male with frostbite.
In March, the patient was admitted to the hospital. By May, health officials had determined that he was very close to death. According to the criminal complaint, he had “severe coldbite” on his feet from the heat loss in his home.
Witnesses told investigators that Brown amputated the man’s right foot on May 27 after it had become necrotic and was only attached to the body by skin and a couple of tendons.
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Hospitalized patient
(iStock)
WQOW reported that the man did not ask for his foot to go and that Brown had not been authorized by a doctor to perform the procedure.
The body was taken to the county Medical examiner due to the “the unusual circumstances of his death,” and Brown was charged after the medical examiner’s office contacted investigators in June. According to the complaint the medical examiner found that the right leg was not attached to Brown, but was instead lying beside him.
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Brown claimed that she performed the amputation for the patient’s comfort and that she would want the same if she were in her same position.
The Pierce County Sheriff’s Office building.
(Pierce County Sheriff’s Office)
Another nurse was in the room at the time of the amputation and said she was holding the patient’s hand. The outlet reported that his grip became tighter and he groaned during the procedure. Another nurse told investigators with the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office that she spoke to the man after the amputation and he relayed that he felt everything and that it hurt. Another nurse claimed that the amputation wasn’t done correctly.
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A person holding the hand of a hospital patient.
(iStock)
Brown claimed to have told other nurses that her family has a taxidermy business and that she wanted the foot preserved and placed in the store with a sign saying, “wear you boots, children.”
WQOW learned that Brown is no more employed at the health care center. Kevin Larson, who is also the administrator and CEO for Spring Valley Senior Living and Health Care, told WQOW.
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“We have been and will continue to cooperate fully with the investigation. “The person named is not employed by our community,” he said in a Fox News Digital comment on Wednesday morning.
Brown isDue in courtDec.
