In 2004, Brown says she paid a "pumper," an unlicensed person, to inject industrial-grade silicone into her buttocks. Brown can't recall how much the woman actually charged — maybe $500, maybe $1,000 — but over time, she says, the area became intensely irritated and painful, and the skin blackened. By early 2006 she says the silicone had hardened, causing severe pain and infection, ultimately requiring her to have lifesaving amputation of her limbs last year.
