The best creative interior design ideas don’t have to cost a fortune – or take up a lot of space.
After her sister had a hysterectomy, TikToker Michelle Ugalde convinced her to keep her uterus and repurpose it as home decoration.
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Michelle’s sister has five children, the last of which were unexpected twins – and she was sure they would be her last.
“Two babies grew inside this womb at the same time. There’s no way we’re throwing this bad boy away,” Michelle (@michellemariewhatever) said of the womb.
Michelle suggested an unusual storage method: with a few preservatives, she would store it in a decorative jar to add more flair to her home.
The couple went on a shopping trip to HomeGoods to pick up materials for the eccentric DIY project.
Originally, Michelle’s sister wanted to divide her uterus into two jars so she could take a piece home with her.
“That’s a damn stupid idea,” Michelle joked.
“It’s her organ, but it’s my idea, so it will remain as a wet specimen in a jar for her to visit whenever she wants.”
While shopping, the sisters carried out a “quality test” of the lucky jar in which their “baby maker” was to be housed.
“We had to make sure the transparency of the glass was sufficient to showcase her feminine parts in all their glory,” explained Michelle.
“This is probably the coolest idea I’ve ever had and it will definitely be one of the coolest decor pieces in my home,” she said.
The video, which went viral with over 3.4 million views, caught the attention of shocked and fascinated viewers.
How to save a uterus
It took a few weeks before the uterus was ready for collection – the pathologists had to do some routine tests – but the nurses and their assistants went to the hospital together to pick it up.
Back home, they put on N95 masks and gloves to move the pieces of the uterus, which had been sliced and placed in a 10 percent formalin solution to preserve the organ.
“Someone asked if I would pickle it. That sounds so gross,” Michelle told the US Sun with a laugh.
Using forceps, the nurses picked up the pieces of the uterus, placed them in the large glass jar and filled the container with water.
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“It looks like mushrooms, it looks like portobello,” said Michelle’s sister.
However, she disagreed.
“It looks like turkey. It looks like you can’t even eat something like that,” she said.
She told the US Sun she was told she had to soak it in water for 48 hours before taking it “to its permanent home with a 70/30 mixture of alcohol and water.”
ORGAN ARRANGED
In a follow-up video, Michelle shared her plans to fully reconstruct the uterus.
“Basically, it’s just a mystery at this point. I knew it was going to be split, but I didn’t think it was going to be split this badly,” she said.
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“I thought four, maybe eight pieces, but that’s a lot.
“Do I really want to be the girl who sews her sister’s uterus onto parchment paper? But we want to see it together, don’t we?”
“It looks like it wouldn’t be too difficult and I’m 100% sure it would look a lot cooler even if you see the seams on it.
“It would be a million times cooler to see the whole thing patched together, almost like Coraline.”
After watching a few videos and practicing sewing for three hours, Michelle was able to piece the uterus together into one complete piece, Frankenstein-style.
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LIKE PINTEREST FOR BODY PARTS
Viewers were shocked by their dedication and commitment to the project.
“This show was absolutely insane and I’m here for it,” said one commentator.
“I’m impressed with the effort you put into this. I would have tried to do the same,” said another.
“If my mom ever needs a hysterectomy, I want to do the same. (It would be) nice to see my first apartment again,” joked one viewer.
“Yay! Frankenuterus!!! You did so well!” said another.
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