A Wisconsin hospice nurse who amputated a patient's frost-bitten foot without permission will avoid jail time, and only pay a minimal amount of fines, according to reports.
Mary K. Brown, 40, told authorities that she was "trying to make the quality of life better for him. When she is thinking of herself in his condition, she would have wanted it off," KTSP 5 reported. However, a coworker of Brown's told investigators that she had said she planned to use the foot in a taxidermy shop as a warning about frostbite, with a sign that said 'Wear Your Boots Kids,'" the station reported.
Brown was initially charged with felonies related to the incident. However, she ended up pleading no contest to a misdemeanor charge of negligently abusing a patient, KTSP reported. Although she won't face jail time, Brown will pay $443 in court costs and agreed to accept any discipline imposed on her nursing license by the Board of Nursing.
The man's foot had necrosis due to dying tissue in his foot from prolonged frostbite, KTSP reported, and the foot was still attached to his body by several inches of tissue.
The 62-year-old man, who was in hospice care, died a few days after the amputation. KTSP 5 reported that a hospital administrator told authorities that he believed a doctor would have ordered the procedure and that he did not believe Brown was ill-intentioned.
