In April, Aiden Adkins was making a gift for his then-girlfriend when he noticed what he thought was a piece of wood fly across the room. But it was no wood piece, it was his left thumb.
Neither Adkins nor his family could find his missing thumb, so doctors were obviously unable to reattach it.
For months, Adkins lived without a thumb.Eventually, however, he decided he wanted to explore options for replacing his thumb.
In August, doctors at the University of Michigan hospital removed the index toe on Adkins' left foot and used it to reconstruct the thumb on his left hand.
After the successful surgery, Aikens spent months learning how to reuse and regain strength in his new thumb.
He says it’s allowed him to go back to doing his passion – taxidermy.
This is Adkins back in August showing off his new thumb.