For years, 54-year-old Katia Curtberry has assumed the sensation of precise control had been a symptom of growing older. But when she went in for a routine thumb surgery, doctors found 27 Nintendo Power Gloves on her right hand.
“She mentioned a vague feeling of motor accuracy and we didn’t think anything of it, but as we prepared for the original operation, we found a Power Glove, tucked inside another Power Glove, tucked inside another, and so on”, explained Jim Cort, renowned thumb surgeon. “This kind of thing is atypical; usually patients will only come in unknowingly wearing 3, 4…5 max Power Gloves.”
After the discovery, the routine thumb surgery became a 14-hour operation to remove all 27 Power Gloves. It’s unclear why Curtberry was unaware of the presence of the Power Gloves, but one can only speculate she had gotten used to the feeling of playing with power.
