A West Virginia woman recently went to extreme measures to preserve her husband’s memory and love of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Angelica Radevski, a 35-year-old nurse in Wheeling, W. Va., lost her husband at the age of 55 earlier this year.
After his death, Radevski decided to frame one of his tattoos to live with her and their son in her home.
Radevski told PEOPLE magazine that when she was a kid she heard about the Ohio-based company Save My Ink Forever, which can preserve the skin of a tattoo in a frame after someone dies.
Her husband was covered in tattoos at the time of his death and was a huge sports fan, particularly of the Steelers. Radevski made the decision to frame her husband’s tattoo of a Steelers helmet, which was on his right arm.
You can check out a photo of the framed tattoo from PEOPLE here.
Radevski explained to PEOPLE how a mortician removed the skin, placed it in a preservation kit and mailed it to Save My Ink Forever before her husband was cremated.
About three months later, the framed tattoo was ready to be picked up.
“When he handed it to us, I was shocked,” Radevski told the magazine. “And it was a good shock — so many things you didn’t know you were missing instantly felt better.”
Angelica Radevski posted a TikTok video after receiving the framed tattoo, explaining how and why she chose to preserve her husband’s skin.
“Everyone’s asking how we preserved my husband’s tattoo… This is just one piece of the story, but there is so much more to tell,“ she said as the caption of the video, which has more than 30 million views. ”But I want you to know how we did this, and why it mattered so much.”
Radevski said in the video that she spoke with her husband before his death about preserving and framing one of his tattoos when he died and that “this was what my husband wanted.”
She added in the video that it “filled a void that was so big. … I seriously can’t imagine if we wouldn’t have had this done. … This has helped me in ways that I didn’t know that I needed help.”
The reaction to the video was mixed, with some criticizing Radevski and others saying they weren’t aware that framing a tattoo was an option.
She told PEOPLE that she understands framing skin isn’t for everyone, but it was the right move for her and their son.
“Just because it’s not what you want, you don’t have to make me feel bad about it,” she said.
“We feel him here a lot, spiritually and energetically. But this is that piece that we really, really needed. When we want to know he’s here, we can hold the frame, and it does so much more than a picture.”
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