Wisconsin nurse, 38, accused of AMPUTATING 62-year-old's foot because she wanted to display it

A Wisconsin nurse has been charged with elder abuse after she amputated an elderly man's foot without permission, and allegedly told colleagues she was going to display it at her family's taxidermy store.

Mary K. Brown, 38, was treating a 62-year-old man who suffered a fall and whose foot was subsequently damaged by frostbite.

On May 27, she amputated the gangrenous foot, telling a fellow nurse she intended to exhibit it with a sign saying: 'wear your boots, kids.'

The man died eight days after the operation, on June 4, and last week Brown was criminally charged.

The saga began in March, when the man was admitted to Spring Valley Health and Rehab Center in the small, rural village of Spring Valley, close to the border with Minnesota, 60 miles east of Minneapolis.

Mary K. Brown, 38, was charged with elder abuse on November 3 after she amputated a 62-year-old man's foot on May 27 without following procedure - and said she wanted it for her family's taxidermy store

He had fallen and was struggling to recover: his foot was damaged by frostbite.

The patient's condition continued to decline, and he fell out of bed in the nursing facility, further damaging his foot.

Two months later, by May, Brown said that she thought the patient's foot needed amputating.

Doctors were sure that he was close to dying, and other nursing staff said his foot was necrotic and only held to the rest of his leg by dead skin and tendons.

Brown said that she took the decision to amputate his foot because she 'was trying to make the quality of life better for him.'

She explained that the patient always complained about the smell and she thought he 'would like it better.'

Brown insisted that she carried out the procedure to help the ailing man, who died eight days later. Other nurses expressed surprise at her actions

She said there was no blood in the procedure, and another nurse said the man felt no pain.

But a different nurse told investigators that, while Brown was performing the amputation, the man's grip was 'extremely tight and he was moaning a little bit.'

Two days later, the patient told another unnamed nurse that he had 'felt everything and it hurt very bad,' according to the affidavit.

Brown put the amputated foot in a bag in a freezer.

One of her colleagues said Brown talked about taking the victim's foot home and 'epoxying it' - coating it in resin - which the nurse found to be strange.

The man died on June 4 and the morgue worker found his foot was missing, and alerted authorities.

Kevin Larson, administrator and CEO of the facility, said that Brown did not follow standard procedure and write a report on the incident.

There were no notes about the amputation on the man's chart, and a doctor's order was not sought.

Larson said the best practice should have been to get an order from a doctor, which he believes they would have given.

He said he did not believe Brown had any malicious motive, but she has been fired.

'We have and will continue to fully cooperate with the investigation into this matter. The person identified is not employed with our community,' said the nursing home in a statement.

She has not commented on the charges, filed on November 3.

Brown faces up to 40 years in prison on each of the felony charges, and a maximum penalty of $100,000 for each charge. 

Brown is due back in court in December.