Up next in 10
00:00 - Introduction
01:33 - Amaya & Caudal Regression Syndrome
08:44 - Katelynn & Treacher Collins Syndrome
16:14 - Deborah & Phocomelia
22:57 - Ashley's Treacher Collins & Dealing With Bullies
30:07 - Ren & Amelia Disorder
37:31 - Maddie & Jordan's Paralympic Journey
44:47 - Zizipho's Phocomelia & Dating
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0:00
Our daughter was born without legs and ears
0:02
Amaya is only two years old and has had seven surgeries. Three of those were just in the first six weeks of her life
0:10
She's a fighter. I had a jaw and my tongue blocked my airway from my mouth
0:15
It's hard for me to chew and breathe on my own. Kids will start picking on me
0:19
They will call me names like frog or alien. When I went there on TikTok, the trolls appear on my colonization
0:27
Negative colonists got in really, really hard. I was born with no arms and people have said I look like a T-Rex
0:34
We both have limb differences and we're both Paralympic athletes. I contracted meningitis when I was three years old
0:42
I was only given 2% chance of survival and they had to amputate both of my legs to save my life
0:48
I was born without my left forearm. When I was younger, I was picked on and I was often called a monster
0:54
I was born without no eggs, no ticker and a receiving dose
0:58
I've had over 30 operations. I have my jaw broken three times
1:04
I was born without hands and elbows. There's things I can and can't do
1:09
Most things I can do, just in my own way, are just a little more difficult than others
1:14
I was born with a congenital deformation called for camellia lower limbs
1:18
I am missing a left arm, and my left leg is shorter than the right leg
1:25
I was born without arms. Everything you do is adapting to your environment to live in a world that was not designed for you. Hi
1:33
Say hi, Amaya. Good morning. Here. Amaya was born with cauter regression syndrome that affects the lower part of the spine and spinal cord
1:46
so that's the reason for her not having legs. She had cleft palate, she has a tethered spinal cord, small kidneys, small bladder
1:55
And she was also born with microtia, so her outer ears are malformed
2:00
and she doesn't have open ear cs, so she is hard of hearing, and she wears a hearing aid
2:05
We use spoken English to communicate with her, but we also use sign language as well
2:10
Amaya, want more? She's like, not interested. Want more sausage? Yeah, we speak to her in a lower tone because that's what she hears more easily
2:23
without her hearing aid on. She can hear like muffled noises. It sounds like she's basically underwater
2:30
Like that's how she hears when she doesn't have her hearing aid on. Let her do it
2:36
Good job. Come on. Get a curl on my mommy. So when and how were you first made aware that Amaya would be born different
2:46
So I went for my 20-week anatomy scan. And they were like, yeah, no growth at all
2:51
Like we don't see legs at all. and so I had a breakdown in the hospital
2:56
We were definitely worried when we found out that she was gonna be born with no legs
3:01
We didn't know the extent of her condition while I was pregnant, so as soon as she was born
3:06
and we found out exactly what was going on, we were definitely worried about the future
3:10
When she was born, she wasn't breathing, so they were trying to put on a ventilator
3:15
so she could breathe, and they were having difficulty with that because she had cleft palate
3:20
She had a foot that was like attached to her body. And then we had to have that amputated because it was causing a lot of pain
3:27
And then when she was six weeks, she had a surgery on her jaw. They placed hardware in her jaw to pull her jawbone forward
3:34
So she's able to breathe. That was a big surgery. Really scary
3:41
And then we have one coming up. We are nervous about the spinal cord surgery that she has coming up
3:47
It's to release the spinal cord from Amaya's spine. It's kind of a big surgery
3:53
It's going to be a dangerous and really expensive surgery. We do have a GoFundMe for Amaya surgery just to kind of help out
4:03
We don't know, you know, how long we'll be missing work. It's really difficult to balance everything when we go to surgery
4:10
It's just a lot of time, a lot of effort, and a lot of money involved whenever it comes to Amaya having surgery
4:18
It will hopefully be the last one that we have to have ever. This is all she does all day long, just back and forth, back and forth
4:30
So Amaya goes to therapy four times a week. She has physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech and feeding therapy
4:39
Physical therapy, we work on her range of motion and her mobility
4:43
The goal is to get her to pull up on top of this and into a sitting position like as if it were a chair
4:55
It's okay. You don't like it? Okay. You don't have to. We're happy with the progress that she's making
5:02
We have to be cautious with her because she knows no limits. She'll do whatever she can
5:07
to climb on anything, under things, so we have to really watch her. All this therapy that we work on
5:13
every day of the week will help her, you know, grow into an independent person. I'd love for her to just
5:22
not have to rely on anyone. I think as she grows and continues to learn, I think she'll be very
5:28
independent. Amaya. Amaya loves her older sister, Araya. They play like all day together
5:37
Oh, you fall! Amaya's different than other kids. She's, like, unique. At first, we didn't know, you know, at the hospital
5:47
how to let Araya know that her sister didn't have legs. We didn't tell her
5:52
Her only question was, are they going to grow back? Like, no, that's not going to happen. Her legs aren't going to grow back
5:56
I'm definitely going to be protective of her when she's older and, like, when she actually gets into school
6:02
Araya is very protective of Amaya. She talks back to the people in public, and I have to tell her
6:07
like we don't we can't do that you know. Hi! Ready? We're gonna see our friend
6:13
Samu at the park. I love Sammy. Let's go! So usually when we go we go to grocery stores things like that kids you know
6:27
they see Amaya and they kind of give a face. Like kids oh she doesn't have legs
6:32
because they don't know you know like what to say. Most of the time when the
6:36
parents see her they just see her hair so like oh she has you know she has cute hair but sometimes
6:41
you know you can see their face go from a smile to like wait what yes so like they see her face
6:48
and they're like they'll say it they'll like comment oh she's so cute and then you see their
6:51
eyes go down and then they're like oh like and then end of conversation i started making tiktoks
6:57
and tried to spread awareness this is jaylen and my daughter maya was born without her legs
7:02
The response online has been more positive now. When we first started out, they say some crazy stuff
7:11
Some of them type out paragraphs this long to tell me how bad of parents we are because we kept her
7:17
I wanted to be a support to other women that may be pregnant with a child with a limb difference
7:23
I showcase her moving around and getting around and show them that she not just stuck in one place Good job Hey He grown since I seen him last
7:35
Wait, do Maya. You ready to play? Ready to play? If you have a child that's born different, don't let other people get to you
7:46
You know, a lot of people have had things to say about us and it's been difficult
7:51
A lot of people see her and think that she's not capable of doing anything just because she doesn't have legs
7:56
Hopefully once she gets older, she's able to spread awareness and let other people know that just because she has disabilities, she's still able to do things
8:07
Amaya is Amaya and she's going to do things on her time
8:12
I think Amaya couldn't have better parents for her condition. They've overcome milestones that I can't dream of
8:18
I'm sure it was hard to talk about it first to anybody. And it's good to be able to be, you know, there for them. Yeah
8:24
When we can. Yeah. She's the reason I get up every morning and go to work
8:28
We've seen a lot of growth just in ourselves and with her
8:32
And we're forever grateful for her. It could be sitting at home, you know
8:36
sad and crying about it because she is born different. But we wouldn't have her any other way
8:44
Right here is my airway. I don't have a jaw and my tongue blocks my airway from my mouth
8:51
So having a tray helps it support me breathing a lot more better
8:55
I need to be careful how I clean it. I usually clean it like once a week
8:58
Treatment called a syndrome. It's a genetic condition that I was born with
9:02
It's a bone feature where I was born without no jaw, no ears
9:07
I had a hearing aid because I don't have ears. Obviously, it's hard for me to chew and breathe on my own
9:14
There's certain things I can't do like swim in water or chew proper food
9:19
I have to take care of what I eat or else I will choke. What were your earliest memories of realizing you were different than other children
9:27
I would have to say first or second grade. I remember being looked at so many times
9:34
Like I would get scared at, laughed at, pointed at. I remember being around sevens
9:39
Kids would start picking on me. They would call me names like a frog or alien or all these hercule names
9:47
I didn't want it on school because I was kind of like, I want to feel sad, you know
9:52
My parents told me we need to talk and they explained like this is why people are doing this to you because you're born different. Perfect
10:03
Hey, babe. Yeah? Want some coffee? Yes, please. my dating life. I never dated anybody, like an actual relationship
10:13
I remember being so, so scared. We met in August. Back in 2022
10:21
2022, yeah. At first, I was there as a care of dating
10:25
because I never knew what to expect. I've never dated anybody with this condition
10:29
which made me more interested about what the condition is because I never knew what it was
10:34
But I wasn't nervous about it only because how you look doesn't really bother me at all
10:40
You know, I've always told you this. You never judge a book by its cover until you actually read the book
10:49
I love you. I love you, too. The relationship that I have now, it makes me feel good
10:55
I don't feel like I have a condition. I don't feel like I'm any different. I don't feel any less human
11:00
I don't feel any, just, I just feel good around him. And I never met a thing like that, ever
11:07
You know, I'm on camera man. I gotta get her recording every time she's dancing because she's so good with it, you know what I'm saying
11:13
When did you first discover you had a talent for dancing? I was Ken and my dad
11:22
and I noticed I was like moving my body around. He's like, yeah, what are you doing
11:28
I said, oh, I like the music, you know? My dad was smiling
11:32
you know how to dance. So I'm like, okay. Dancing makes me feel stress relieved
11:40
It helps me get my mind off of things. Dancing is my way of letting things go
11:45
and letting things out. And it's just, it's kind of, you know
11:49
screaming, punching walls. When I see Kayla dancing, how do I feel about that
11:53
I feel like she's living her best life. I started posing from TikTok
12:01
On August of 2023, my boyfriend actually is the one that told me to like post, like
12:07
hey, you should show off your camera. Like, imagine how many people you would uplift with your condition or like disability in general
12:14
And I sat there like, hmm, I don't know, like I was kind of scared because of the hate
12:19
There's a lot of hate comics in the world right now. I was like, you know what? Screw it
12:24
I'll do it. Why not? I never thought my videos were going to be viral
12:28
It was unexpected. And it's just crazy. this dance that it was going viral for a while so i did the dance it went viral overnight it would
12:36
it hit 11.5 million views but yeah overnight everybody was commenting like girl you could get
12:44
like i think there were more more shock that people with condition like me can
12:50
do something like that and i saw all the nice comments i saw all the negative comments i was
12:55
like okay at first negative comments got me really really hard i remember your friends you would
13:00
you would be very emotional. And that's understandable. Who's not emotional? Everybody is
13:06
And she would ask me that, why are they talking to me like this? What filter is this
13:12
They're assuming that my disability or my face is a filter, which I'm like
13:17
okay, you're trying to act slow or dumb. How did this happen to a person
13:23
And I'm like, dang. Some of y'all ain't smart. Or you're just trying to be funny
13:29
And it's not funny, it's stupid. The next one is a frog ogy
13:36
I'm like, okay, like, really? It's literally the same comments every single day
13:41
or every time I post. So it's nothing that bothers me anymore, at least
13:46
I feel like they got too much time on their hand where they feel probably miserable themselves
13:51
They have nothing against really hurt. And if they do, they need help. We kinda just kinda like..
13:56
Strug it. Look at it like, okay, you want to be negative? Okay
14:00
Is there anything better you can do with your life besides being negative
14:05
I sometimes look at it as a boost to like, okay, since you want to be that negative
14:10
I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing. You're boosting me as to be a better person. If you can make a negative to a positive, then what can break you
14:17
It's kind of like, hate me some more. You're making me happier than ever. Basically. Basically, yeah
14:23
People assume that he's with me for my money or he's only with me because he deals bad for me
14:29
Not understanding that a lot of the times it's not about looks
14:33
When people say, oh he's just doing it for the money, you don't know that. You don't
14:38
And it's not true. And it's not true. I make my money, she makes her money, we stick together
14:44
As long as you can be truthful and stick by my side and be yourself, that's all I need
14:50
That's all I need. I'm with her because I feel safe with him. I feel safe I feel myself I don have to pretend to be somebody that I not as well Looking back my confidence was a girl Now it more like I would say like an ape
15:06
I'm not going to say kin because I'm not going to say I'm perfect. I'm not
15:10
I'm a human being, I had emotions, I had feelings, I had bad days, which is normal
15:14
Everyone has bad days. I feel so bad with people not feeling confident about themselves
15:20
You know, people always say like, hey, your confidence has you. I'm so confident. I wish I had that. I wish I had that
15:26
I know these children, you need to build it. What I hope what people learn from this story is never give up on yourself
15:33
Never give up on your passion, your dreams, your goals, your life goals
15:38
My wishes and my goals for the future are just keep going. Push hard. I will never stop doing what I love to do
15:45
And it's just me being me, needing myself, surrounded by love, positivity
15:49
You can't change the past, but you can change the future. What's going to come after
15:55
What's going to come after you next? I have a message for the people that are trying to bring me down
16:01
You can keep trying. I'm in my own place. I'm in my life. Do what I gotta do
16:06
You're worried about what I do. You're worried about what I do? Keep watching me
16:14
When I was a kid, probably around five or six, My mom probably just let me try to hold a brush
16:23
I'm sure I tried with my hands and pretty quickly realized that my fingers aren't strong enough
16:28
So all I have is my feet. I also use my feet to open doors, reach a mug out of the cupboard, straighten my hair
16:37
Yeah, I mean, anything that is inconvenient to use my hands for
16:41
Boca milia is a birth defect that causes underdeveloped limbs at birth
16:47
definitely presents challenges. I have to adapt to the world and adapt to everything being made
16:55
for people with hands. And that's definitely been a journey. Growing up, other kids obviously
17:02
noticed that I look different. Sometimes, you know, I'd get the comments, the stares. There's
17:10
definitely insecurity when, you know, like you notice people are staring at you. It's constant
17:19
You know, sometimes a kid will be like, ew, what's wrong with your arms? And it's like
17:25
I was born different. I was adopted at four and a half by my parents who are American
17:32
My family helped me a lot growing up. I had help getting dressed until I learned how to do it
17:38
myself. My sister helped me do my hair. Hey babe, how are you? I still get help when I don't need it
17:47
sometimes because it's easier to have somebody just come expedite. So we met at church, you know
17:56
I was there with my family. He was there with his before Nathan. I didn't really date a lot
18:02
but I felt like the guys, you know, maybe weren't interested, and I felt pretty insecure
18:09
You know, will someone want to date someone like me? When I was dating Nathan, it was really different than any relationships I had ever had previously
18:18
He just genuinely respected me for who I was. Here we are, 11 years later, married with a kid
18:27
Okay, I'm going to get started on the lunch sandwiches. When I found out I was expecting Matthew, it was scary
18:41
How am I going to do this without arms? I was scared to hold him
18:47
I had to figure out how to nurse him, change his diaper
18:51
But we figured it out. I kind of hugged him and lifted
18:57
And that's still how I pick him up to this day. Hey guys, I want to share with you one of my favorite weekend lunch ideas that we make for family lunch
19:08
In 2021, Matthew, he saw the TikTok app and was like, we need to start doing TikToks
19:16
Putting myself out there was really scary, you know? Are people going to judge me? Are people going to be mean
19:23
I do get weird comments and questions. Hundreds of comments like, you look like a dinosaur
19:28
I thought T-Rex's were extinct. I was like, okay, okay. So the first video I made that went viral
19:37
was me wearing T-Rex fingers. People say what they wanna say and it's up to you how you wanna respond
19:47
You know what, I feel like a lot of people on TikTok
19:50
say that I look like a T-Rex. And you know what I say
19:55
You know, it's a choice. You can be sad and poor me
20:05
And I have those moments. I'm human. But like I try to have like a positive, funny outlook. Hey
20:13
Hi there. Oh, are you guys just eating? Yeah, come sit. OK
20:21
Hi, hun. My mom has been hugely important in my life. She was my biggest advocate, still is, if I need it
20:29
Hey, I brought those pictures we were talking about. Oh, lovely. You found the photos
20:37
This is the one they sent to us when we were planning to adopt you. It's in the orphanage
20:43
I ended up in an orphanage because my birth mother had me at the hospital
20:47
and decided to leave without me. There's times I really struggled with
20:51
she just left me there and like, you know, kind of felt sad about that. How could you just leave
20:59
We thought we would be a good family for her, but we were still really nervous. I knew that
21:05
there would be challenges and there were some challenges between the ages of about seven and
21:13
14. While she was growing, her stubs would, the bone in her stub would grow and start to poke
21:19
through her skin. So about twice a year she would have to have surgeries to file down the bones in
21:26
her skin. Like these pictures of you after surgeries, how you were still smiling. It wasn't so often that
21:33
I became friends with the nurses. She was always such a good sport about it. She doesn't feel sorry
21:41
for herself. Yeah. Isn't she cute? Yeah. Did you know your mom was that cute? No. She's worked hard
21:49
She's just met many, many challenges. I just am so grateful that she's in my life
21:57
Awesome. Deborah is amazing as a wife. She's inspiring. As a mother, she's loving and caring and fun
22:09
You can't judge a book by the cover. When I look back and think how far I've come
22:16
I've adapted well to life. and I have this beautiful family and you know I'm happy
22:24
Like what more can you ask for I proud of myself for putting myself out there and being brave and kind of sharing my story Growing up there weren people like me on TV
22:39
You know, we weren't out and about. And now we have a platform where we can be like, we're here
22:46
We're taking up space. Maybe one day a kid with a limb difference
22:50
is gonna be scrolling TikTok and be like, oh, she looks like me
22:56
My hair gets so frizzy. I can't stand it when it goes messy
23:01
That is a weak mind. That's not my normal hair. I'm Ashley Carter, and I have Tretichokoni syndrome
23:08
I feel without no ears, as you can see here. I got both spain antiterranes on both sides
23:14
The surgeons literally put in a titanium screen and this is where it attaches here
23:23
Turn it on and I can hear. It's been very difficult because I just wanted to fit in
23:30
with everyone else but I always felt like left out. It all stemmed from school. I knew that I
23:37
looked different to the other children in the school. Trying to mix in with other people
23:43
Trying to mind getting involved, I had. You're an alien. You're agony
23:48
It was happening on a daily basis. I would sit and eat my lunch and I would get food tucked at me
23:53
They would punch me, kick me, they would pin me up against the wall. And I just said to my mum, I was like, I cannot do it anymore
24:01
I didn't want to go out because I was worried about what if this happens
24:06
What if that happens? I just wanted to be at home all the time. I lost my confidence
24:11
the lack of interesting things. I just wanted to be at home in my safe place
24:17
I will never ever forget the people that made my life out growing up
24:25
I started posting about a couple years ago. And it's all about raising awareness about my condition
24:32
I'm going to be sharing some of my stories. Just because we're born different
24:38
We're still the same people as everyone else. It means so much to know that I've got my support out there
24:43
Some of the lovely comments I've had from yours have been really lovely
24:48
and it's actually helped me kind of a lot. I have received negative comments online
24:53
Can people not comment or judge my figures by the way I look
24:57
It looks like you've been putting them in the oven. It looks like the sun has melted you
25:02
Seeing the comments, it got me down. I'm not going to say it hasn't, I think it moved anyone
25:07
What I tend to do is I just delete the comments because I don't want my family, my friends to see it
25:14
This is Bradley here. Even with like normal shoes, he still over-tallies me
25:20
I think my brother needs to stay more when I come home. Quiet. Upset
25:28
Hello. How are you? Come in. All right? Yeah, I'm all right
25:32
Want some coffee? Go on. Do you show it guys? Bradley can be very protective when he realised that I was being picked up
25:44
Straighten your hair. Take about an hour. No, it does not. Get out of the shower. Straighten your hair
25:49
Don't talk stupid. Blow dry it, whatever you want to do. Brush it. Don't talk stupid
25:54
Why is that on the shoe? Because I wanted to, right? I did see, from an outside point of view, all the bullying
26:00
It angered me a lot. I just wanted to be there for Ash. but obviously being five years younger, it's kind of hard
26:07
Just that felt, I looked so chubby. I just want people to be treated the way that they want to be treated
26:16
Yeah, literally. So when I go out, even if it's to the shops
26:22
even if it's to the pub, even when I'm in a car, I get the looks, I get the scares
26:29
And I sometimes do get the comments and I just want people to understand that just because I look different
26:36
and I have a facial difference, I'm actually a genuine nice guy
26:44
Lovely to see you. Dad has been very supportive. When we found out that Ashley had Treacher Collins Syndrome
26:52
we were shocked, but you were really, really cute. Cute. Yeah, cutie
27:01
Not a lot of people knew about Trichycolin syndrome because it's a syndrome that is just one in 10,000 people
27:11
So he was a bit of a guinea pig. Obviously, he was very young, so we had to turn the screw on this frame that was inside your jaw
27:20
and we had to do that every day. Due to having such a narrow airway, I couldn't breathe
27:26
I turned blue. They gave you an external frame, So that brought your jaw forward by two centimetres
27:33
and then that opened your airway up, and then they could take your tracheostomy out. Yeah
27:45
Which was deep breath time. You'd never breathed unaided, really. Never breathed and what you did
27:53
You were breathing on your own. It was quite scary, actually, Because you had to have stents put in your eyes
28:00
because you didn't have any tear ducts. What's the stents? It's a little tube that you put into the eye
28:08
to make a little channel so that you can make a tear duct sleep
28:13
You could only lie on your back. Was that the most recent one? That was the most recent one
28:18
Yeah, I had to sleep like I was in a coffin. You were like that, yeah
28:22
I was a female, you know, and I had to sleep like that
28:26
We were about a week away from actually taking you to London for prosthetic ears
28:33
They can literally make ears. I haven't had ears for 23 years
28:37
I can have a chin implant if I wanted, but I'm not someone else
28:42
You said, if people can't accept me for what I am and the way I look
28:48
then they're the ones with the problem. And that's the way it's been for practically the whole of your life
28:55
There were some really horrible operations that you had to go through, and we didn't know what was going to happen
29:06
With me being picked on growing up, I do wish to tell my dad earlier
29:11
I wish to tell my mum earlier, because maybe things might have got sorted quickly
29:17
But Ashley kept a lot of it very quiet. He used to come home, go straight to your bedroom
29:22
thinking, oh, he's up there doing his homework. I was in that state of mind thinking, like, if I tell anyone, is it going to get worse
29:29
Is the bullying going to get worse for me? To know that he was hiding things like that from us
29:35
and all we wanted to do was to make it right. Throughout your life, you've been so brave
29:45
I'm very proud. I'm very proud of him. He is just a good role model, and generally people love him
29:53
I've had my good moments, but I've had my bad moments. We are who we are. We are living
29:59
the life that we want. I think from now onwards, life is much more
30:06
I actually had to teach myself how to do everything. Everyone in my life was born
30:11
with hands, so I had to teach myself like how to get up, eat with silverware, or get
30:17
dressed, and all that other stuff. My hair, like brushing the back of it, it's like
30:22
hard to reach sometimes. I was born without hands and elbows. I was never
30:28
diagnosed. I have never seen like an x-ray of my arms but through the years of doing my own research
30:34
we've come to a close possibility that it could be some form of amalia disorder. I call them nubs
30:41
I've been calling them nubs since I was little or nubbies. My tiktok name is nubbies like that's
30:47
just what people know me as. Why was it important to you to be able to do things independently
30:52
Mainly because I don't really have like family in my life like or whatever as I was like growing up
30:59
I was adopted when I was 11 years old. My adoptive mom, she would make sure I would learn how to do something
31:07
And even if it was really irritating me, she'd be like, no, keep going. You have to do it until you get it
31:11
I really hated it. But like now I am like super grateful for it because I do everything, most everything by myself
31:18
Obviously, like, I'm gonna need help with some things, which I'm so grateful for my boyfriend
31:24
for that. He has to help me with a lot of things, and sometimes I feel bad, but I still am pretty independent
31:30
And not a single shell. Usually I have Timmy helping me with this stuff, like the messy stuff
31:42
I'm okay with having no arms, but like, it's like kind of annoying sometimes
31:47
I think as being little, I was more chill with it. But then there was phases where I was like
31:51
man, I really hate having no hands, this sucks. Dating was difficult in the past
31:56
Boys, they didn't want to be embarrassed. My first relationship, I didn't want to hold my hand
32:02
They said it straight up to me, like, it's just weird, I don't know how I'm gonna hold your hand
32:06
It would have been nice if we could have found a way. And then my second relationship cheated on me
32:11
My third wasn't there on an emotional level. I don't know if I'm doing this right. Should I flip it
32:16
You can flip it if you want. I just got fed up and then I met Timmy
32:23
Oh no. We met on Bumble. We chatted for a couple weeks and Timmy asked me on a date
32:32
I was definitely nervous that he was going to be questionable about how the relationship was going to go
32:38
Or just be nervous to be seen in public with me. I like to just go into things with an open mind
32:42
I'll try anything once. I'll just jump in and see how things work
32:46
And it's been working itself out. So it's been great. We've been living together for like a year
32:52
And I think this is like the first time I've ever actually felt love from someone
32:56
I don't know. I think I'm the happiest I've ever been in my life. If it falls, then I lose. I mean, I don't know. We'll see how many we can do
33:02
Everyone was like talking about how cringey TikTok was. And the only reason I joined was to watch the cringe videos
33:08
And then I was like, well I have this funny video of me putting my arm in a hot dog bun
33:13
and putting ketchup on it. So let's post that real quick. I got like 300,000 likes within a couple days
33:26
So we just kept posting and I did a lot of videos of me kind of just making fun of my disability
33:31
but kind of like a heartwarming way. But I'll also post things about awareness towards it
33:36
like I'll talk about discrimination and stuff on there. I get so many good compliments
33:40
Like people are always complimenting my outfits. I do like a lot of little dancing videos
33:44
and people are always like hyped about my dancing. And then obviously those comments that are very like icky
33:50
like sometimes they'll ask me like, how do you use the bathroom and wipe
33:54
And how do you take a shower? Like I never have this in public ever
33:57
No one ever just comes to me and says like, how do you wipe yourself? Nobody says that to my face
34:02
It's always behind the screen because people are like, I can say whatever I want. They'll never find me
34:07
But you're just hurting my feelings and you're making me uncomfortable. Oh, green screen. That's a funny one
34:12
Sometimes people think I'm just AI'd or green screened. I mean, I guess AI could do it, but these aren't AI
34:17
These aren't. I'm very much born with no hands. Most of the time people are really nice
34:22
Mostly positive. I've had people come to me and tell me, you've helped me stay alive or other stuff like that
34:28
And it's super heartwarming. I'm just like, I can't fathom that I did that much for someone
34:35
Hello. Hi, how are you? Good, how are you? Good, I'm good. Good to see you. My little brother, Brody, we were adopted by the same parents
34:44
Brody, he has autism, and so there was kids that would push him into lockers. He had a stuttering issue, and if I was with him in that school, I'd be there to help him
34:55
Well, growing up with Ren, as kids, we fought a little bit, but she was that one person that was always there by my side. We've been through everything together
35:04
But what about me having no hands? How was it watching me learn how to do things
35:10
I was actually, as a kid, I was always jealous. Because you always, like, good drawler
35:16
Like, through painting, you're always better at drawing and painting. And you learn how to tie your shoes first
35:22
I was almost trying to learn things before you learn. That's kind of funny
35:30
People in public, they tend to stare at me. Most of the time they don't mean any harm, so like whatever, I don't say anything
35:37
Like if I catch them staring, I just like look away. Usually when I go out in public, I wear sleeves
35:42
Like I cover up my arms or I wear a cardigan to cover up my arms. I like went out in public the other day without a cardigan for the first time in years
35:52
I was actually able to ignore people staring at me, so that was very nice
35:56
But I think it helped because I just got this tattoo and I want to show it off
36:00
I wanted an arm band of all different hand emojis so I could be like
36:05
yeah, thumbs up! Or, yeah, no, thumbs down! Or, or the Italian one right there. Yeah
36:11
Amanda How are you I remember like younger people would look it would like stress you out and you would almost feel like a person
36:24
But as the years have gone on, you've, like, not really cared so much as what people think
36:29
You're like, this is me, this is who I am. I mean, I have only known you a little over a year, but, I mean, I feel like you embody confidence
36:41
I don't know why anybody wouldn't want to just come over and start talking to you because you're genuinely an interesting person
36:47
You're so sweet. Thank you. Hey, it's been a while. I'm just a person. Like, I have hobbies. I can do everything like everyone else
36:59
Just because I'm disabled doesn't mean I'm from a different planet. I have, like, the same thoughts as everyone else and I do the same things as everyone
37:06
And I also have probably the same goals as a lot of people. I would really like to be an actress
37:11
Like, I think that would be really cool. We'll see how it goes
37:18
I just kind of let life flow. I hope that people understand that people with disabilities are more capable than they expect
37:25
We find our ways. Like, eventually. It takes time, but we find our ways
37:33
We live here in Clarkland. As you can see around you with the mountains and everything, it's fantastic
37:38
It's a very nice town. It's quiet. What's up everybody? Maybe don't groan
37:47
My name's Maddy and I'm a member of the Canadian Paralympic Track and Field team
37:51
and I compete in the event of long jump. My name is Jordan and I'm an athlete on the Irish Paralympic team
37:57
that specialises in the sport of high jump. Back in 2019 we were both at the World Championships in Dubai
38:05
I was on team Canada obviously and then Jordan was on team Ireland
38:09
She pretty much slid into my DMs if I'm being honest. Ireland actually reposted my post and she followed me through that post then sent me a message asking if I was going to be at the track
38:21
And she walked up to me in front of the entire Irish parenting team at the track which took a lot of nerve
38:29
To tell you the truth I went over to Dubai to win a medal but came back with a girlfriend. So it was definitely something that wasn't expected
38:36
I think we have a really nice dynamic to have a partner who does exactly the same thing that you do
38:43
They understand the workload and commitment that's involved in going to these events
38:47
Becoming an Olympian or a Paralympian. It's a 24-7 thing. I'm going to head to the gym
38:53
Get some weights. Crush it. See you later. See you. Bye-bye. Just a buck
39:01
Gotcha. Love you. Love you, bye. Enjoy. When I was three years old, I contracted meningocoglid disease with septicemia and gangrene
39:12
It's also known as meningitis. And they had to amputate both of my legs to save my life
39:18
And I also had four of my fingers amputated on my left hand, and I went completely deaf
39:24
in my left ear. I was still only given less than 2% chance of living because it's a very progressive disease
39:31
people that get it don't really make it past the 24-hour mark. It's pretty much a miracle that I'm
39:38
here today. When I was growing up my bones wouldn't recognize that they had nothing to grow into
39:46
I do remember getting fitted with my first pair of prosthetic legs. For me it was a little bit
39:52
scary at first because I had to learn how to do everything again. My very first pair of prosthetic
39:59
legs they they were quite heavy and they're quite stiff they were kind of hard to walk around and I
40:05
won't lie. Now the technology is amazing I mean my prosthetics are nice and light they're comfortable
40:11
my ones that I use for training then they're even lighter and they allow me to move freely
40:19
It was a bit difficult growing up when I was trying to get involved in sports because it
40:23
was something that was foreign to them they had never had an athlete before come to them
40:28
that had a disability. There was multiple clubs that turned me away because they didn't want to
40:34
have me there because you know maybe I was a liability to them. I wish people would sometimes
40:39
see us first as people rather than people who have disabilities. Hey. Hello. What is up? I have a coffee for you. You better have a coffee for me. That was correct
40:56
From a very young age I always knew death. I was different from everybody else
41:02
It was something that happened at birth, it's called Amniotic Band Syndrome, where the umbilical cord wrapped around my elbow restricted the blood flow
41:10
which therefore resulted in the stoppage of growth. I happened to live in a relatively rough estate, you could say
41:17
There was difficulties and challenges getting involved in sporting settings, getting strange looks
41:23
people saying that you'll never be able to play basketball or you'll never be
41:27
able to do this or that you look strange. They don't happen anymore but they used
41:31
to happen frequently. How was Jim? Good yeah, wasn't too bad. Feeling good, feeling
41:38
strong, looking forward to getting back now hopefully in competitions. In 2015 I
41:44
became the first one handed basketball player to ever represent their country nationally in the world. Obviously it took a lot of hard work and dedication to
41:52
achieve that goal. I was just so determined to be able to prove all the
41:58
haters I suppose and doubters wrong and the people that just didn't believe in
42:02
me because there was a lot of people that didn't believe in me at that point. People have asked us in the past if we were to have kids in the future if they
42:09
would be missing their limbs because we are both missing our limbs. You get like
42:14
like the holy people that like they're like God bless you. God bless your spirit
42:21
Is your hand gonna grow back? No, no it's not gonna grow back
42:25
It's a plant, man. They're like, oh, I'll pray for you. I'm like, I mean, thanks
42:30
You should pray for yourself, buddy. Oh God People just make assumptions that either myself or Maddie we good athletes simply just because of our disability in our category but we good athletes overall full stop Do you want to head away now Yeah let go to the track get
42:47
warmed up. We train 12 times a week. It's our routine, we know what we have to do to
42:52
try and be the best in the world. All right guys we get set up and we will get to it. You guys start jogging around
43:01
to start warming up. So these prosthetics are my running blades and it kind of gives me what a real
43:07
leg would feel like. My very first experience of helping out an athlete with a disability would
43:15
have been Jordan. I had no background in coaching anybody that would have had to make adaptations
43:21
or anything like that. Okay, skip. Get your toes up, toes up, toes up. Both of them would pride themselves
43:28
as kind of representing para-sport on a level playing pitch with able-bodied
43:34
So it's quite inspiring to see they've all stopped having to do a double take
43:40
they're all used to her being there now and I think a lot of them are quite honoured
43:44
that they'll see somebody who doesn't see barriers. My tattoo says never say can't and it's above one of my scars that I had from surgery
43:56
I had from surgery when I first got meningitis. Mine are the Olympic rings, as you can see here on my left bicep, and the Paralympic symbol
44:04
on my left pec. Only 0.001% of the entire population of the world get to become a Paralympian
44:10
or Olympian, so I think it was only right to kind of acknowledge the achievement of
44:15
getting there and by having it on my skin and with me for the rest of my life
44:20
With all the opportunities that this sport has given me, I wouldn't change it for the
44:25
I mean I got to meet Jordan because of this sport. Yeah, I wouldn't change it for the world. I absolutely love it
44:47
My name is Zizi Paul Soldat. I am 26 years old and I live in Russell Frieden Park
44:52
I was born with a congenital deformation called for camellia lower limbs
44:56
which is a condition that affects your muscular as well as your inside organs and your limbs
45:01
I am missing a left arm and my left leg is shorter than the right leg
45:08
Right now, I am putting on my makeup and fixing my hair, getting ready for a blind date
45:15
I would never know if my date would look past my disability today
45:18
however I am positive about it. I mean I'm so fabulous, I still look good. My
45:25
confidence is that good right now. I have worked on it for years. I'm excited, very
45:31
nervous. I think it's starting to be a reality that is actually happening in a few minutes
45:38
My name is Machi, I'm from Kempton Park. I came here as a software developer
45:44
engineers. I actually don't have a type. My type is really about the
45:49
characteristics of a person rather than the physical looks. I'm definitely nervous
45:53
I know nothing about my date. I like facial hair in the man and I think that speaks volumes
46:08
She's gonna come to me with a beard, a full on big beard
46:12
What's your name? Machi. What? Machi. How do you say that? Machi. M-A-C-H-I
46:21
Machi, not like him. Yeah. And what's your name? Zizipo. Zizipo. What makes a good date for me would be manners
46:31
You know, him being respectful, him making eye contact and being friendly
46:37
etiquette you know what do you do um software development so i'm a software engineer did
46:43
it at school yeah the computer science actually nice you do anything other than that i make chili
46:50
chili work like chili sauce you like cooking i suppose i do i really do love cooking so you're
46:58
You are very in touch with your feminine side. Ummm... Yes. I like alpha male
47:05
I like confident men. I like men that are very in touch with their masculine side
47:12
So what do you do? I have a 9 to 5 of course. But then I'm a model
47:16
I'm a freelance content creator as well as filmmaker. I've always wanted to be a model all my life
47:24
And then Instagram came, I was like, let me actually take this chance
47:28
And I was actually spotted by an agency and then that's where I started getting signed
47:33
Google me. Have you ever been with someone that has a disability
47:39
What do you think of people that look like me? Disability is disability. It doesn't actually take so much out of you
47:52
How long have you been single? I haven't been in a relationship
47:57
Do you think it's mostly based on your conditioning? 80% of it, I think it's caused by that
48:04
And the other 20%, it's just me being a diva. I don't want to make someone feel like I'm holding them hostage by being with me
48:13
Being with me is supposed to make you feel so good. So if you are constantly worrying about what other people are going to say when you're with me
48:19
it's not going to make me feel happy. So what has been your biggest turn off when it comes to girls
48:25
Ladies who are more materialistic. We're talking to one right now. I have to turn off for you? Yeah
48:32
Do you want to do everything you see on the TV? I am TV. I am watching TV
48:36
What do you mean? I want to turn off for you. Okay, okay
48:42
Do you mind if I just go to the bathroom? So far it's going great
48:48
I think it's very open-minded about my condition. doesn bother him I think I not too sure but he shaded me he said they not like material girls And I am very materialistic Okay Thank you
49:06
So, in your next relationship, what are you looking for though? Oh, you got questions too
49:11
You came prepared. What am I looking for? Yeah. I think we're all looking for something that we never had before
49:20
I want to be touched. You know soul touching? Yeah. I want to feel alive. I have control in my life
49:28
I don't owe anyone any explanation of anything. Already, living with a disability, so I don't want to leave with the limits
49:36
I don't like that. I really, really enjoyed actually reaching you. Let me help you out
49:43
You want to help me out? Okay. Thank you. I think when I first saw her, of course, I did get a sense of more dominance
49:54
But I feel like at the same time, when it went on, of course
49:58
they came to a point where I was understanding her more. You want me to hold your hand
50:03
No. He was very down to earth. I did not want to overthrow him
50:08
I had a lot of questions to ask him. And I didn't want that to come up as rude
50:12
So I really felt like, let me just turn it down and meet him at his level
50:16
because he is very quiet and is very sweet. Do you think you'll see each other again
50:23
We're definitely going to see each other again. I don't know about him, but we're definitely seeing each other again
50:29
Yeah, I'll see him again. That's what I think. As a person who has never been on a date before or a blind date
50:37
I think I've learned a lot. It's been a really great experience. Okay
50:46
I was born without arms and that condition can also just be known as bilateral aplasia of the
50:58
upper limbs. I think it definitely made me have thicker skin and it definitely made me have to
51:03
learn how to troubleshoot things from a very early age. I was adopted from a Russian orphanage
51:09
I had therapy lessons and they would have me use my feet to play with things. Everybody is born
51:16
with two hands and you learn how to adapt to your social surroundings. It's just, I just was born
51:22
without them. For the most part, no. I love the fact that I don't have arms. I mean, I wouldn't
51:26
be on camera right now filming for this. Are there things I can't do? I mean, push-ups would be
51:31
difficult. Besides that, there are specific articles of clothing that are difficult for me
51:36
to wear. I tend to wear clothing a lot more like this. It's just very easy, very close to my body
51:42
because I use my legs for everything. I don't like having puffy sleeves or really loose pants
51:49
I kind of just like everything to be close to my body. If it's a coat and somebody else is around, like my boyfriend
51:55
I will just have him do it. Joe will help me if I need to have something buttoned
51:59
He'll even sometimes curl my hair for me, which is really sweet. Today is exciting
52:03
We are going to go shopping. My boyfriend and I are having a dinner date tonight
52:08
so we get to go find an outfit for that. I can do a lot of things by myself
52:14
I've learned how to adapt so well with feet. I need to put this down
52:20
And then I'm pretty short, so slide that in. But basically, I just have one foot on the gas
52:27
And then you have your brake, and I'll just alternate. And then I just do this. And then for the turn signal, I can just do that and still have my foot on this
52:36
I don't have any car adaptions, if that makes any sense. So I can drive any car
52:40
I could not drive a manual though. I'm super looking forward to shopping
52:45
There are going to be days where I feel awkward or where I feel clumsy
52:50
I think the biggest frustration when I go out in public is just knowing that other people
52:55
aren't used to me and I'm sort of like an alien in their environment in a way
52:59
And so they'll stare or ask questions, which again is at least completely fine for me
53:05
For some people with disabilities, it's not. Joe is honestly one of the most supportive people that I know
53:10
It's never been an issue for him. I'm definitely hoping to find something that is very comfortable and easy to wear and something that will make me feel confident
53:21
This is cute because it's super flowy, so it'd be super easy for me to get on and off
53:25
It looks very comfortable and I can style it very easily. These are bodysuits and I would love to be able to wear bodysuits and stuff like that
53:33
The thing that I avoid wearing the most would probably be bodysuits because those are just a pain to get on and off
53:38
and if you need to use the restroom, it's just game over. So it's really difficult to get certain things
53:43
because if they're too wide in the shoulder, then they'll just fall off. This top is definitely my favorite thing I've tried on
54:01
I think that it's very comfortable. You like it? Actually, it really is super cute
54:08
Y'all have a good one. Thank you, you too. I just got done shopping
54:12
I had such a fun time, and I'm so excited to wear my new clothing at dinner tonight
54:24
Stop. Oh, what the heck? All right, dinner's just about ready, so we are gonna go get changed and be right back
54:32
Three, two, one, go. What do you think? Honestly, I think it's perfect
54:39
It looks super comfortable and I think you look gorgeous. I think it's really important for people with limb differences and just people in general
54:48
with disabilities and differences of all kinds to be represented because I think we live
54:52
again in an age that is very comfortable with the one size fits all mentality
54:57
I think it is really important for media to showcase more diversity because I mean at the
55:03
end of the day, that's what's real, right