Things got creepy in 2020 way before October. The year has brought too many tricks and not nearly enough treats. But Halloween always brings smiles to our faces, and it didn’t disappoint in spite of the pandemic and various other irritants. Amputees all over the world put on a festive show of creativity and wit. Here’s our gallery of the best limb-different impostors and masqueraders we could find. The winners come from three continents and half a dozen countries.
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Best Josh Sundquist Amputee Costume
Nobody can compete with Josh Sundquist at this time of year, so he gets his own category. The Master of Amputee Disquise made the Halloween rounds this year as Baby Groot, about whom our kids could tell you much more than we can. We know he’s a Marvel character, but that’s the extent of it. No idea what Baby Groot’s superpower is. We do know Sundquist’s, however: the power to dominate the internet with his insane costumery. He posted a video recapping his entire hall-of-fame Halloween career, capped off by an explainer that shows how the Baby Groot costume came into being
Best Costume by a New Amputee
To paraphrase one of Prince Ke’Yair’s recent Instagram posts: You know what’s scarier than Halloween? Childhood cancer. And this young man is a picture of courage. Ke’Yair is slugging it out against osteosarcoma, fighting like crazy and backed by a loving army of family and friends. We’re pulling hard for him. How can you not? The battle cost Ke’Yair his right leg below the knee in late August, about two months before he turned 10 years old, but it hasn’t taken away his smile or his spirit. We became aware of his story while researching our article about crowdfunding for amputees. If you’re in a position to support Ke’Yair and his family, here’s the link. They’re still in the thick of the fight.
Note to Ke’Yair: Send us a picture of yourself next October in your 2021 Halloween costume and we’ll post it. But nothing too scary, please.
Best Quadruple Amputee Costumes
Kids division: Harmonie-Rose Allen. Nothing ever seems to get this meningitis survivor down.
Teen division: Isabelle Weall. This ace makeup artist shared multiple looks on Halloween. We love her YouTube channel.
Adult division: Chris Koch. Very nice Dorothy costume, Chris . . . . but where are the pigtails?
Senior division: Helenice Milagrinho. This Brazilian grandma beat 100-to-1 odds to survive a sepsis infection.
Best Amputee Pirate Costumes
Joe Roybal, aka No Juice Joe, steps out for some scallywaggin’.
Adaptive model Lexie Bader rocks the latest buccaneer duds.
Hoist the mizzen, Jack Fetchko!
Coapt ambassador Heather Harms meets Captain Hook.
Best Amputee Costumes by Former Amplitude Cover Subjects
At left: Chauntal Lewis graced our cover earlier this year for our July/August 2020 fashion issue.
At right: The debut issue of Amplitude in January 2015 featured Amy Purdy on the cover.
Best Amputee Costumes: Animals
Furball division: Adaptive dancer Donald Lee is one cool cat. (Watch here.)
Slobbery tennis-ball division: Where are the other 100 dalmatians, Alexander Helander?
We’re gonna need a bigger boat division: Adam Roper jumps the shark . . . . no wait, reverse that.
Disney clownfish division: Nemo finds Tarah Una . . . . no wait, reverse that one, too.
Best Amputee Costumes: Best of the Rest
Where’s Waldman? Oh, there’s Waldman.
Kirstie Ennis bares it all.
Angel Giuffria: “I’ll be back” next Halloween.