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The wife of a Glendale man who tried unsuccessfully to perform his own hernia removal operation with a butter knife says their lack of insurance is at the root of their troubles, according to the Glendale News-Press .
Last week, Maria Demestihas told reporters that while her husband, Nicholas, 63, was hospitalized at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, she was begging doctors at the facility to do the surgery to take out the football-sized hernia that is sticking out of his stomach.
Mrs. Demstihas says that money is the issue, and Nicholas does not qualify for medicare. Moreover, she says the hernia exacerbates her husband's schizophrenia.
His past "unstable behavior" halted an Alhambra clinic from performing the operation previously. While being cared for at County last week following his botched self-surgery, doctors treated his injuries, but not the hernia itself.
Nicholas Demestihas' self-surgery attempt last week is not the first time he's tried to handle his hernia himself. Since the hernia appeared six years ago he has "driven a nail into the growth, has tried to shave it off with a razor and punches it." Mrs. Demestihas says she fears if the hernia isn't removed now, he will continue to try to tackle it himself.
