Oil changes and home repairs are one thing, but do-it-yourself surgery is outrageous. I feel so bad for this guy.

Pensioner forced to chop off rotting finger due to surgery delay

A New Zealand pensioner chopped off one of his rotting, gangrenous fingers with a pair of scissors because he could no longer stand the pain after waiting 20 months for surgery, it was reported yesterday…Matthews is suffering from dry gangrene following cardiac surgery 20 months ago in Christchurch Hospital and his fingers are rotting and dying as a result. Two of his fingers have already rotted off and he is desperate for surgery to amputate two remaining fingers.

A picture of this poor fella can be found here.

Moral of the story? Socialized healthcare sucks and lowers the standard of care for everyone.