A Canadian man received the taxidermy bone he lost during a car accident months just in time for Christmas.
Justin Fernandes, 24, of Toronto, Canada, had his leg cut off when he was hit by a motorcycle while walking from work in July.
Although the incident resulted in a lengthy stay in the hospital and months in a rehabilitation center, Fernandes decided to retain the joint bones of his lost leg as part of his recovery.
“It was basically my closure,” Mr Fernandes told CTV News. “This is how I wanted to grieve,” he added.
The preparation of the bone was not simple, but after Fernandes joked about the treatment of his bone on a Facebook page dedicated to taxidermy, the Prehistoria Natural History Center (PNHC) in Toronto responded to him.
The center usually works with skeletons of animals to display in the museum and for memorial animals for pets, which require them to put legs back together, according to the New York Post.
After the team from the center heard about the story of mr. Fernandes and the seriousness of his accident, he decided to help him get it taxidermic.
“We did not know him when the incident happened … but through the process we got to know each other very well and he became an adopted member of our family here in the museum,” said PNVC chief Ben Lovatt. , told CTV.
“Everyone heals in their own way of a tragic incident,” Mr Lovatt continued. ‘And this incident was a hit and run that nearly bled him to death along the road.
“So he was trying to find a way to shut down, a way to feel whole again, and that was a unique way to do it,” he added.
Mr. Fernandes was earlier quoted $ 15,000 (£ 11,095) by another taxidermy studio to prepare his leg, but Mr. Lovatt said the center would do it for free, calling the figure an ‘outrageous request’.
The process for acquiring property from Mr. Fernandes was not easy either, as he had to get a special pardon to release it.
‘If you can imagine it, I’m just in this hospital, at this point I do not even have a prosthetic leg, I’m just jumping around, I’m stuck in bed and sending 100 emails and dozens over all the phone calls , ”He told CTV.
After the center was able to convince the hospital that they could handle the work and Fernandes obtained permission to take the leg, the 24-year-old had to find a funeral home to transport it to PNHC.
“They’re picking it up, it’s in the box, it’s wrapped, it has bio-hazardous stickers everywhere – it looks crazy,” Mr Fernandes said of the delivery.
After Lovatt and his team removed and sterilized all the soft tissue on the bone, Fernandes was finally able to see the final product just before Christmas.
“It was the first time I had my whole leg repaired – it was unreal,” he said. “I have to remind myself that ‘Hey, this is your leg, you walked on it. “It is difficult,” he told CTV.
Although some of his family members were initially against the idea, Fernandes said he did not regret the choice because it helped him move forward.
‘For me, when I changed that morbid, sad object that people would just throw away and forget, I basically wanted to turn it into art, and that’s what I see, when I see it, art. I think it’s beautiful, ”Fernandes told CTV.
‘You grieve as you feel the right way is to grieve. It’s your loss, “he continues, adding:” Two months ago I could not even walk. It takes a lot of willpower, but it can be done. This is not the end. Your life is not over. ”