TATTOOED FOR MEDICAL REASONS
I WAS TATTOOED TO HIDE RARE BIRTH DEFECTS
I was Tattooed as a way to deal with a lifetime of Physical Health Issues. When people ask about the “Pain” of Tattooing, I laugh. Tattoos just hurt the upper skin layers. Tattoo pain is nothing compared to pain you cannot control. Tattoo pain goes away. It stops. It heals and goes away. My Doctors hurt me much more than any of the 150+ Tattoo Artists who have worked on my body. Understand this: I have more painful/unusual areas tattooed than anyone in history. Medical pain is much worse.
1 week before my last Bodysuit session in 2007, I was Diagnosed with both a single small Kidney from Birth and Kidney Disease. Legendary Tattoo Artist Henry Goldfield did my final Bodysuit session. I was pumped full of antibiotics for the session and went to the hospital for a series of surgeries 2 days later. I have not been allowed to get large tattoos since then. The important thing was that I finished my Bodysuit! I could die (and did for a few minutes in Surgery) with my life’s Art Project Complete.
Tattoos hide my missing left chest major pectoral muscle. Left Lower Biceps. Mutated Ribcage. Twisted Spine. The checkered stomach spiral changes shape because of my internal rare birth defects. I swell and shrink because of several serious internal medical conditions. I have only had one small kidney since birth. I have had kidney disease for 10 years in that tiny kidney. The large torso stripes hide large surgical scars. I walk with a bad limp from mutated bones in my leg and spine.
I’m disabled because of my body. I have been in pain 24/7 for most of my life. I have 12 different prescriptions and take 27 pills a day. My entire life is medically regulated and controlled. The tattoo gave me control over my body. Tattoos make me proud of my body.
Genital tattoos really keep you from losing your sanity if you have to use a catheter. I had to for 1 year while having my bladder rebuilt in 4 agonizing surgeries. If you are in a situation where you pee blood daily like I do, then it really helps to have genital tattooing. Having my body tattooed helps me in the hospital. Without them, it would be much more difficult to handle all of my medical treatments. It is very scary to be naked with tubes in your body and doctors working on you. Getting the tattoo has prepared me for this stage of my illness.
With tattoos, I am enjoying living in my body instead of living a life unhappy from rare birth defects and illnesses. The doctors treat me much better because of my tattoos. I use my tattoos to talk about birth defects and kidney disease in the media. Socially, I am treated much better. Women love me. I travel all over the world. Tattooing has opened the door to a much more interesting life. Tattoos are not a cure for my medical issues, but they help me live with them.
Here are some photos that explain technically how my tattooing hides my mutations:
1) In the following photos, you can see how my tattoos hide the missing left chest and how the stomach spiral tattoo smooths out the lumpy and swollen stomach area. I only weigh 145 lbs. I am not fat. I can barely digest food. The surgeries and missing parts mean I will never have a flat stomach. The area swells and shrinks depending on what cycle my kidney disease, diabetes, rebuilt intestines, bladder, and multiple mutated/missing internal organs are in that day.
2) See the nipples? The left one is higher and almost in the armpit. There is very little muscle under it.
3) The large stripes on the torso cover long surgical scars and hide the mutated left ribcage. The asymmetry of the design hides the mutations in the torso.The tattooing is a checkered optical illusion that distracts the eye from the mutations. Yes, the left shoulder is smaller and higher than the right.
4) The left chest has a blue fake muscle tattooed on it. It is almost flat on the left side of my chest. No major pectoral. No left lower biceps.
The Chimera chest tattoo hides the muscle on the right side, while the blue creates the illusion of a muscle on the left side. The left shoulder area is smaller and a little higher than the right side too. The checkers give the illusion of symmetry on the collar and stomach. They look like they match, but the left side is much different.
