Mark Bertram was missing the tips of two fingers on his left hand. The fan of an air conditioner had taken them off in a workplace accident.
After two surgeries and months of therapy, he decided to take the drama out of it with an idea that sounded like a joke: getting the nails he no longer had tattooed. He went to a studio in Hecker, Illinois, and explained his request to Eric Catalano, a tattoo artist famous for his hyperrealistic work. They say everyone at the studio laughed at first.
Catalano had never tattooed a fingernail, but he began studying Mark’s healthy fingers. He copied their shape, the cuticles, the calcium spots, and even the dirt that builds up underneath. Eleven minutes later, both nails were finished.
The photos went viral on social media, and many people had to look twice to understand what they were seeing. But the best part came later: amputees and cancer survivors started writing to Catalano to ask for something similar. Mark summed it up this way: “It changes your life, but it doesn’t end it”.