Fairing better with her prosthetic leg

Learning to get around without a leg was just part of Katherine Crawford’s transition to life as an amputee, but that didn’t mean she was also willing to give up her fashion sense.

In 2008, the Glendale resident was training in the Army to be deployed to Afghanistan when she severely injured her left tibia. She received an honorable medical discharge and spent the next several years in a wheelchair as well as in frequent pain.

After voluntarily having her leg amputated in 2012, Crawford got back on her feet with the help of a prosthetic limb, though sporting a metal rod didn’t make for something aesthetically appealing.

“It was useful for physical mobility, but it didn’t really adhere to me as an individual,” she said.

A few months ago, Crawford signed on to be a spokesmodel with UNYQ, which makes creative covers that can be worn over prosthetic legs.

The covers — known as fairings — are manufactured using 3D printers and can have custom designs, an approach Crawford took.

She describes the design she picked as being based on Asgard, a Marvel comic-book universe based on Norse mythology.

Crawford, who’s also an actress, said the choice will lend itself to the role she’ll be playing in an upcoming indie superhero film.

On top of readjusting to moving about without a leg, another major change for Crawford was being approached by strangers every day in public asking about her disability.

She said some even impolitely and bluntly asked, “Was it blown off?”

But strutting around in her fairing gets people asking about what she’s wearing instead of why she’s different.

“It gives people something else to pay attention to, something else to ask questions about,” Crawford said. “It detracts from that morbid curiosity.”

And when she tries to avoid drawing any unwanted attention altogether, she slips on a pair of capris over her fairing as the cover subtly restores the shape of her lost leg, so people don’t notice her disability at all.

Overall, Crawford said more and more amputees are becoming open to showing off their prosthesis and not trying to hide, especially with people like Paralympian snowboarder Amy Purdy in the media.

“It’s possible for amputees to feel like they’re not a curiosity, to feel like they’re normal,” she said.