Only my family laughs at medical emergencies

I just got an email from my mother. Her postscript included "BTW, your Uncle Bill ground the end of his thumb off on Tues. He's getting rid of his fingers slooooooowly. (sic)"

Several years ago, he lost the tip of his pointer finger when a jack let go and detipitated it. I think he's planning a big heist (which doesn't require much manual dexterity) and is trying to get rid of his fingerprints.