Off with his Head

It’s the oldest story in the book.  Boy has a failing body and wants to chop off his head and then have his head reattached to a new, healthy body.   Suddenly, along comes a pretty girl who ruins everything.

The “boy” in this story is a wheelchair bound man of 33 named Valery Spiridonov.  Valery volunteered for the world’s first head transplant.  He intended to allow a certain Professor Sergio Canavero (not so affectionately known as ‘Dr. Frankenstein’) to sever his neck and then reattach his head to a new body.  The good doctor presently works in China thanks to generous research funding and medical latitude not found in most places.

Valery Spiridonov, you see, has a bad, deteriorating body.  He suffers from Werdnig-Hoffman disease, a malady responsible for spinal muscular atrophy and limited life expectancy.  Feeling he had nothing to lose, Spiridonov volunteered for the world’s first human head transplant.

And then along swished Anastasia Panfilova, a stunning young woman in her early 30s with a master’s degree in chemical technology and a love for men in wheelchairs.  Valery and Anastasia met while living in the same city in Russia.  About men in wheelchairs, Anastasia remarks: “Such people are much deeper, feeling, faithful, kind-hearted and they are usually very smart…isn’t that the main thing?”

Valery Spiridonov most certainly is smart.  He’s a computer expert.  Spiridonov is presently studying the computer analysis of emotions at the University of Florida.  And he certainly does have feelings.  His feelings for Anastasia grew so strong, he married her.  Together, miraculously, the pair produced a healthy baby boy.

Naturally, given his new life, Valery Spiridonov changed his mind about having Dr. Frankenstein severe his head from his body and reattaching it to a new one.  Dr. Frankenstein, insistent that he has a head to severe from a body, is now seeking a new volunteer to provide a head for the procedure.  I am not sure where the healthy body is coming from.  I suspect this might be a bit like making sausage—you really don’t want to watch this too closely.

Valery Spiridonov and Professor Canavero

Anastasia Panfilova

—Mitchell Hegman

Photos and Original Story: The Sun