Sister wont let bro bring his unnecessary prosthetic leg to xmas. AITA? UPDATE
AITAH for telling my brother he cannot stay with me over Christmas if he brings his prosthetic leg?
My younger brother has a prosthetic leg. I think it is creepy AF and I have no idea where he got it. I'm reasonably certain that it is something I would rather not know.
To be clear here my brother has two perfectly healthy legs still attached to his body.
He just has this thing he takes with him everywhere. I don't know why, I don't want to know. Before you ask yeah it is probably a mental health thing.
He wanted to stay with me rather than our parents while he is home for the holidays. I said he was welcome to stay so long as he doesn't bring that thing into my house. He said it wasn't a big deal and that he would leave it in his luggage.
I agreed on the condition that if I saw it outside of his luggage in my home then I had the right to destroy it. He backtracked on staying with me and is at our parents house. Where he is miserable. They still treat him like a little boy instead of a guy who is almost 30.
He called me again after supper and asked to please stay with me. I said he could so long as we, together, took his thing and put it into a storage unit until he leaves. I get the key.
He won't do it.
He says that I'm being a jerk for not letting him stay with me. I think he needs to get therapy or medication. Or both. Or a girlfriend. Boyfriend. Dog. Cat. Hamster. Something. Just not a GD prosthetic leg.
Here were some of the top comments on the original post.
danuhorus
I'm a prosthetist and I have to ask: What does this leg even look like? Below knee or above knee? Does it just have the pylon bare, or is there a foam covering so that it sorta looks like a leg? Is there a foot shell on it, or is the foot component just sorta... hanging out?
The reason I'm asking is because A) prosthetic anything is mindbogglingly expensive, and B) you can't just 'have' a prosthetic leg if you have two perfectly healthy legs. You literally need a stump to make one that's specifically yours.
Did your brother receive it from someone? Did he steal it????? And just to be sure, it's an actual prosthesis and not a leg brace of some kind? I've had patients and their families make that mistake before.
OP:
It looks like a carbon fiber cup with a steel knee and lower leg and foot.
danuhorus
Oh jesus. AK prostheses are NOT cheap, that's an entire car right there. I would actually grill your bro on where he got it, because it is 100% NOT his.
If he stole it, he's looking at felony/grand theft charges. If he bought it, check his and your parents financials because again: these things are insanely expensive and he doesn't sound like the brightest bulb.
MAKE SURE HE DOES NOT TRY TO SELL THE PROSTHESIS OR ANY OF ITS COMPONENTS. I get that they can be hard to get for the people who need them the most, but if the components are damaged in any way, they can lead to gnarly injuries for when they inevitably fail.
If you truly do want to get rid of it, there are organizations out there that will take old prostheses and refurbish them.
ApollymisDIL
An emotional support prosthetic leg, that's a new one
Kris1986
I know this is extremely distressing for you but I’m laughing so hard. At first I was like is this A H serious? She won’t let her brother bring his leg? Like his whole leg he needs to walk because he literally lost a leg in some horrible accident but then you clarified both his healthy legs are still attached and I lost it.
NTA but you and I are NOT the same. I would NEED to know. All of it. Where did you get it? Why do you have it? What do you do with it? Did you steal it off a bum or something?
Then I would stare at him uncomfortably until he broke and told it all to me. I may later regret my decision but I don’t often think that far into the future when something catches my attention
AdventurousRevolt
You and I are the same! Follow up questions- Does the person who it belonged to know you have it? Did they die?
have you named the leg yet?! What’s their name? What’s their pronouns???!
Do you sleep and cuddle with it? Does it bruise you since it’s not soft or cuddly.
Are you in a relationship with a leg? Do you take the leg on dates? Do you buy them Xmas presents? DO THEY HAVE A FAVORITE TYPE OF SOCK I NEED TO KNOW
So many many manyyyyyy questions.
mecha_face
What is the leg's LIFE STORY
4me2knowit
You’re pulling my leg? Right?
It's one of the oddest stories we've seen. Fortunately, there is an update.
I didn't realize how much attention this was going to get. Enough that someone informed the woman my brother stole it from, and she was able to figure out what happened. She called the cops and he got arrested.
I guess he was sort of trying to do the thing where he could be the hero that tracked down her leg.
Please don't ask me what was going through his head.
The leg was expensive enough that he is facing real criminal charges.
That's all.
Sorry there is not more to tell.
Well.
gold-magikarp
I remember reading this originally and wondering why the hell he needed to take that leg around everywhere with him.
I feel like he would have returned it way sooner if he wanted to "play the hero"...
Viperbunny
He quite literally wanted her to come crawling to him. He wanted her to feel as vulnerable as possible so that she would need him. I was medically abused by my mom. Sadly, this kind of behavior isn't new to me.
As I have gone no contact and been through therapy, it all becomes more clear. My mom has an untreated personality disorder. They want you to believe that they are the only ones who care and the only ones to be able to take care of said person. They want them to be as helpless as possible.
Sounds like he picked the wrong lady to try that crap on!
Potential_Speech_703
That's wild.. I wonder why he wanted to bring it with him though. Is he obsessed with the woman and has to carry the leg with him all the time?
I mean stealing it is one thing but why carry it around all the time?! If he tried to be a hero he could have hid it. Sounds more like a weird obsession..? I don't think he wanted to give it back to be the hero.
I have so many questions.
But I'm glad the woman will get her leg back. This is something I never thought I would ever say.
SassyPieHole03
This is the most bizarre update I ever read.
And I'm totally here for it!
glasswindbreaker
I didn't think it could get more bizarre than the original post but here we are