A Romanian man was recently saved by doctors after cutting his wrist with an angle grinder because he was convinced he had colon cancer by simply reading about his symptoms online.

The bizarre incident took place on Saturday, in the Romanian city of Botosani. The unnamed man had been depressed about colon pain he had been experiencing for a while, but his wife didn’t suspect just how desperate he had become. At one point, he told his spouse that he was going into the outhouse to get some firewood for their boiler, but he had more sinister plans. A few minutes later, the woman received a text from her husband telling her that he was sorry and that she had been a good wife. Luckily, the woman immediately realized something was wrong and ran to the outhouse, where she found the man with an angle grinder in one hand and his other hand almost severed completely…

Photo: Damir Samatkulov/Unsplash

The wife called an ambulance, and a team of paramedics arrived quickly to stabilize the bleeding man. He was rushed to the Mavormati County Hospital, where he received the care he needed to stop the profuse bleeding. Luckily, there was also a plastic surgery team on call, so he had his hand reattached as well. He has since been transferred to another hospital in Iasi, where doctors are attempting to save the mobility of his left hand.

The man’s relatives told investigators that he had been experiencing colon pain for a while and that he had become convinced that he had colon cancer after reading about his symptoms. He hadn’t bothered seeing a specialist about his problems, instead making up his mind about the diagnostic and plunging into a deep depression.

Photo: Karan Bhatia/Unsplash

Romanian press is reporting that the patient is recovering well and he is currently also being tested for the symptoms that made him desperate enough to cut his own wrist with an angle grinder.

The internet is a wonderful thing where you can find a wealth of really useful information, but it can also be incredibly dangerous for people who lack the ability to understand that you simply cannot believe everything you find online, especially medical information. Self-diagnosing is a real problem worldwide and can sometimes have fatal consequences.