real, live, Mer-Lady

A double amputee who lost both her legs as a child has turned into a mermaid with the help of an Oscar-winning special-effects workshop.

Once, when asked what happened to her legs, Nadya Vessey, from Auckland, told the little boy she was a mermaid.
She never gave up on that idea.

Two years ago, she wrote to special effects company Weta Workshop (Wellington, NZ) to ask them to make her a tail. They did.


It comes complete with a fitted suit, and covered with digitally printed sock with hand-painted mermaid scales.
'A prosthetic is a prosthetic, and your body has to be comfortable with it and you have to mentally make it part of yourself,' Nadya, who has been swimming in a pool and Auckland Harbour, told New Zealand media.