00:00 I was born with no arms and people have said I look like a T-Rex.
00:04 I ended up in an orphanage because my birth mother had me at the hospital and decided
00:12 to leave without me.
00:13 There's times I really struggled with.
00:15 She just left me there.
00:17 When I was four and a half, an American family adopted me.
00:20 People were usually surprised, like, "Why did you pick her?"
00:25 When I was a kid, probably around five or six, my mom probably just let me try to hold
00:32 a brush.
00:33 I'm sure I tried with my hands and pretty quickly realized that my fingers aren't strong
00:38 enough.
00:39 So, all I have is my feet.
00:41 I also use my feet to open doors, reach a mug out of the cupboard, straighten my hair.
00:47 Yeah, I mean, anything that is inconvenient to use my hands for.
00:52 Focal milia is a birth defect that causes underdeveloped limbs at birth.
00:58 Definitely presents challenges.
01:00 I have to adapt to the world and adapt to everything being made for people with hands.
01:08 And that's definitely been a journey.
01:10 Growing up, other kids obviously noticed that I look different.
01:15 Sometimes, you know, I'd get the comments, the stares.
01:20 There's definitely insecurity when, you know, like you notice people are staring at you.
01:29 It's constant.
01:30 You know, sometimes a kid will be like, "Ew, what's wrong with your arms?"
01:34 And it's like, I was born different.
01:37 I was adopted at four and a half by my parents, who are American.
01:42 My family helped me a lot growing up.
01:44 I had hope getting dressed until I learned how to do it myself.
01:49 My sister helped me do my hair.
01:51 Hey, babe.
01:52 How are ya?
01:55 I still get help when I don't need it sometimes because it's easier to have somebody just
02:01 come expedite.
02:05 So we met at church.
02:06 You know, I was there with my family.
02:08 He was there with his.
02:10 Before Nathan, I didn't really date a lot, but I felt like the guys, you know, maybe
02:16 weren't interested and I felt pretty insecure.
02:19 You know, will someone want to date someone like me?
02:22 When I was dating Nathan, it was really different than any relationships I had ever had previously.
02:28 He just genuinely respected me for who I was.
02:33 Here we are, 11 years later, married with a kid.
02:37 Okay, I'm going to get started on the lunch sandwiches.
02:42 When I found out I was expecting Matthew, it was scary.
02:53 How am I going to do this without arms?
02:55 I was scared to hold him.
02:57 You know, I had to figure out how to nurse him, change his diaper, but we figured it
03:03 out.
03:04 I kind of hugged him and lifted and that's still how I pick him up to this day.
03:10 Hey, guys.
03:11 I want to share with you one of my favorite weekend lunch ideas that we make for family
03:18 lunch.
03:19 In 2021, Matthew, he saw the TikTok app and was like, we need to start doing TikToks.
03:27 Putting myself out there was really scary, you know?
03:30 Are people going to judge me?
03:32 Are people going to be mean?
03:33 I do get weird comments and questions.
03:36 Hundreds of comments like, you look like a dinosaur.
03:39 I thought T-Rexes were extinct.
03:41 I was like, okay, okay.
03:45 So the first video I made that went viral was me wearing T-Rex fingers.
03:52 People say what they want to say and it's up to you how you want to respond.
03:56 You know what?
03:57 I feel like a lot of people on TikTok say that I look like a T-Rex.
04:03 And you know what I say?
04:10 You know, it's a choice.
04:11 You can be sad and poor me.
04:16 And I have those moments.
04:17 I'm human.
04:18 But like I try to have like a positive, funny outlook.
04:23 Hey.
04:24 Hi there.
04:25 Oh, are you guys just dating?
04:29 Yeah, come sit.
04:31 Okay.
04:32 Hi, hon.
04:33 My mom has been hugely important in my life.
04:36 She was my biggest advocate, still is, if I need it.
04:40 Hey, I brought those pictures we were talking about.
04:45 Oh, you found the photos?
04:48 This is the one they sent to us when we were planning to adopt you.
04:52 It's in the orphanage.
04:53 I ended up in an orphanage because my birth mother had me at the hospital and decided
04:58 to leave without me.
05:00 There's times I really struggled with.
05:02 She just left me there and like, you know, kind of felt sad about that.
05:08 How could you just leave?
05:09 We thought we would be a good family for her, but we were still really nervous.
05:15 I knew that there would be challenges and there were some challenges.
05:20 Between the ages of about seven and fourteen, while she was growing, her stubs would, the
05:27 bone in her stub would grow and start to poke through her skin.
05:31 So about twice a year she would have to have surgeries to file down the bones in her skin.
05:37 Like these pictures of you after surgeries, how you were still smiling.
05:42 That wasn't so often that I became friends with the nurses.
05:48 She was always such a good sport about it.
05:50 She doesn't feel sorry for herself.
05:52 Yeah.
05:53 Isn't she cute?
05:55 Did you know your mom was that cute?
05:58 She's worked hard.
06:00 She's just met many, many challenges.
06:02 I just am so grateful that she's in my life.
06:05 Awesome.
06:10 Debra is amazing.
06:12 As a wife, she's inspiring.
06:14 You know, as a mother, she's loving and caring and fun.
06:19 You know, you can't judge a book by the cover, you know?
06:24 When I look back and think how far I've come, I've adapted well to life.
06:29 And I have this beautiful family and, you know, I'm happy.
06:34 Like what more can you ask for?
06:37 I'm proud of myself for putting myself out there and being brave and kind of sharing
06:42 my story.
06:43 Growing up, there weren't people like me on TV.
06:50 You know, we weren't out and about.
06:52 And now we have a platform where we can be like, we're here.
06:56 We're taking up space.
06:58 Maybe one day a kid with a limb difference is going to be scrolling TikTok and be like,
07:03 "Oh, she looks like me."
07:05 [MUSIC]
07:11 (upbeat music)
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