John Wayne Bobbitt, the man who famously had his penis cut off by his estranged wife, Lorena Bobbitt, has recently undergone the amputation of all of his toes.
Bobbitt said he was exposed to severely contaminated water during his time at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina in the late ’80s, and over time, developed a condition that ultimately led to the amputation, according to The Sun. The former Marine said he fell victim to neurological and physical issues after drinking the water and developed Toxic Peripheral Polyneuropathy as a result. The condition caused nerve damage and a bone infection that gives him ulcers, requiring painful skin grafts, according to The Sun.
John Wayne Bobbitt points toward photographers as he arrives at the Prince William County Courthouse in Manassas on January 18, 1994. JENNIFER YOUNG/AFP via Getty Images
It was explained that the nerves in his feet, legs, hands and arm are at risk of permanent damage, and the most recent operation he has had to endure was the removal of his toes in 2023. He claimed he is now unable to work and is seeking a portion of the $1 billion compensation claim that President Joe Biden signed off on at the White House, in 2022, according to The Sun.
Lorena Bobbitt (R) arrives at Prince William County Court House in Manassas, VA, 10 January 1994 for the first day of her trial on charges of malicious wounding of her husband John Bobbitt. Photo by J. DAVID AKE/AFP via Getty Images
Dr. James T. Sehn holds a photo of the severed penis of John Wayne Bobbitt during the second day of the malicious wounding trial of Lorena Bobbitt in the Prince William Circuit Court in Manassas, VA, 11 January 1994. Photo credit should read POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Doctors were initially unable to determine why his wounds were not healing, so they treated him for ulcers at the time. The water poisoning was not yet uncovered, according to The Sun.
Bobbitt’s nerve damage is so severe that he has been unable to feel the pain of the amputation.
He went on to say he vividly recalled that there was a sweetness to the water he drank at the time, and now realizes it was a by-product of vinyl chloride — a colorless, toxic gas used primarily to make PVC, a widely used plastic.
Bobbitt weighed in on what has become known as the most prominent water contamination cases in US history. Oil, industrial wastewater, and toxic chemicals were all knowingly dumped in the local storm drains at the army base between 1952 and 1987, which contaminated the water supply for 35 years, according to The Sun.
“The government covered it up for 40 years,” Bobbitt told The Sun.
“They knew.”
They were testing the water and it was like up to 3,500 times above normal safety standards,” he said.
Bobbitt said he now has “three sets” of attorneys fighting on his behalf, and claimed his relationship with Lorena may have been volatile as a result of the exposure to the contaminated water.
“I wasn’t behaving the way I should have,” he said. (RELATED: Reality TV Star Nelson Thomas Shares Shocking Health Update)
“Maybe I would have made better decisions if my cognitive functioning wasn’t distorted by the chemicals,” he told The Sun.