Jezebel: prosthetic

Big Foot

Intern Katy — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 10:45:00 EDT

This is Mosha. She lost her leg to a landmine on the Thai-Burmese border. Now she has become the first elephant with a working prosthetic leg. [Zooillogix]

Weta Workshop Designs Mermaid Tail Prosthetic For Amputee

hortense — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 11:30:00 EST

"A prosthetic is a prosthetic, and your body has to be comfortable with it and you have to mentally make it part of yourself," says Nadya Vessey, who now has the prosthetic of her dreams.

Vessey, who lost both of her legs from the knee down as a child, dreamed up her ideal prosthetic —a mermaid tail—after a young boy asked her what had happened to her legs. "I'm a little mermaid," Vessey replied. The idea stayed with her, and prompted her to write a letter to the world-famous Weta Workshop, the Wellington, New Zealand based special effects company responsible for the Lord of the Rings films. Vessey didn't expect a response, and was shocked when Weta agreed to make her the tail.

"She was very patient. We haven't always been able to fulfil some requests. We were engaged in it pretty quickly because it was a challenge," says Richard Taylor of Weta. According to the Dominion Post, "The suit was made mostly of wetsuit fabric and plastic moulds, and was covered in a digitally printed sock. Mermaid-like scales were painted by hand." The realism of the tail was apparently very important to Vessey, who, as Taylor notes, "actually physically wanted to look like a mermaid."

Upon completion of the tail, Nadya was able to take it for a test swim, which can be seen here:

"It was absolutely amazing," said Weta costumer Lee Williams of the swim, "It's beautiful to watch Nadya swim and to see that dream come true and to be a part of that. I feel quite blessed."

Mermaid Dream Comes True Thanks To Weta [Stuff.Co.Nz]

(Ball)Girl Power

Sadie — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 12:20:00 EDT

Chasing tennis balls at the U.S. Open has always struck us as a particularly grueling ordeal. For 24-year-old Kelly Bruno, whose right leg was amputated when she was six months old, all that leaping and diving and ball-scooping is nothing. Bruno's a major track star who's competed in Ironman competitions and triathlons, and had to beat out hundreds of other hopefuls for her ball girl position. "Before the second round, her athlete’s mentality kicked in. She decided she would take the same route to the Open as the players: she would train. Instead of slice serves and topspin backhands, she would master the two-handed grab and the one-hop throw." Although Bruno tried out in part she tried out to bring exposure to disabled athletes, Bruno says her prosthesis is no disadvantage on the court: “For me the running is not as tiresome, but I didn’t think standing was going to be so exhausting.” [NYT]

Golden Girls: Nathalie Du Toit

Margaret — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 17:50:00 EDT

[Image via AP.]

Natalie du Toit, of South Africa, center, removes her prosthetic leg before the start of the women's marathon swimming during the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2008. Portugal's Daniela Inacio, left, and Italy's Martina Grimaldi, right, look on. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton, IOPP, Pool) — AP

Read more coverage of the 2008 Olympic Games.