The 37-year-old has since then written an autobiography, become a motivational speaker, and dabbles in photography.
Not every child is lucky to have supportive parents. For people with disability especially, it is rare to have a family that would accept them completely without resentment. However, what happened to Amy Brooks when she was young is extremely tragic. The 37-year-old was born with no limbs due to congenital tetraphocomelia, a birth defect that affects all four limbs, according to Mirror UK.
Before she was born, her biological mother was told that she might miscarry and was given multiple medications to prevent that. After her birth, her biological parents did not take too long to abandon her. They were even so cruel as to tell the hospital staff to put her in a room and starve her. But Amy was a fighter; she has come a long way since then.
She was soon adopted by the Brooks family and they loved her as much as they wanted her to be tough for the world. She has become so independent and successful that she has raced past their expectations as well.
Her adoptive mom, Janet, said, "I didn’t want her to have a cushion life, but I never ever dreamt that she would be as independent and do as many things as she can do now." She added that her two children have always seen each other as equals.
"Her brother Noah never saw her differently to anyone else. She was always that way, so I never felt bad for her," she said.
The 37-year-old from Pittsburgh can cook, write, take photographs, iron her clothes and even sew, according to Metro UK. She is also learning to drive and runs a YouTube channel How Does She Do It? in which she lets people into her world one trick at living at a time. She is an inspiration for disabled people because everything is difficult for her but she has still mastered them.
"I obviously have to do things a lot differently than someone who is completely able-bodied but I’m able to do things just in a different way. Doctors in the beginning definitely doubted that I would be independent, my parents didn’t accept that answer so they always encouraged me. My YouTube channel wasn’t something I really wanted to do at the time, being in front of the camera is daunting but I thought it was also another avenue of being an encouragement to others," she told Mirror UK.
She creates her own videos since she can handle the equipment on her own. “I don’t know if I would call myself a photographer, but I do like to take photos, I use my mouth, my chin and my shoulder for everything," she said.
Even as she has learned to manage her life and share with others, there are those on the internet who can't be happy for anyone. She too receives hateful comments but just ignores them. She doesn't allow strangers to affect her. “I only focus on the positive, meeting their negativity with more negativity is a waste of breath and time to be honest," she said.
She wants to spread her life story with more people and wrote her autobiography in 2014. Since then, she has been doing motivational speaking. She also makes bags that she sells through her Facebook page.
“I love to be able to share my story with others, not because I feel like I do anything great, but I believe that my message is an important one for people out there, that we’re here for a reason and each one of us has a purpose," she said.
References:
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/woman-born-without-limbs-still-17490735
