Joe lived for years with a traumatic brachial plexus injury until doctors in Louisville amputated his right arm at the elbow.
The day after the surgery, his cousin Kevin showed up with something he had crocheted over 48 straight hours: a life-size arm made entirely of crochet, with individual fingers and removable anatomical pieces at the shoulder that imitate bone and bleeding tissue. It does not function as a medical prosthesis, hold objects, or connect to any muscle. It is, as Kevin describes it, textile art to wear.
Joe says that putting it on after the operation gave him back something the surgery had taken away: the confidence to appear in public. That piece will never be sold, but Kevin, who has been creating creatures and characters under the name ThunderStitch for years, started receiving commissions for similar pieces at around 749 dollars each.
