Hey, how’s it going, guys? Before we get going, let me introduce myself. My name is Ryan, and I’m 18 years old. Mostly, I’m just a normal teenage guy. I like playing sports, love eating huge amounts
of food, sleeping, playing video games… You know the drill. BUT, there is one thing that definitely makes
me stand out in a crowd. Maybe “stand out” isn’t the best way
to put it, because, well, I don’t have any arms or legs. You might be wondering how I’m even typing
this story out, but we’ll get to that later. You also probably want to know how I lost
my arms and legs. I promise I’ll answer all your questions. But for now, let’s get the story started. When I was born, I was a normal, healthy baby. That’s not always the case: I’ve met a
couple friends over the years that were born with no limbs because of genetic conditions. There was even a horrible case a while ago
where there was an anti-nausea drug taken by pregnant women that ended up causing limb
deformities in hundreds of babies. Whatever the reason someone is missing a limb
or limbs, it’s not as uncommon as you might think. But it’s still pretty unusual, especially
people like me who don’t have a single normal limb! You don’t see people like me just every
day. But like I said. I was born normal. Just your average, everyday baby. Things changed when I was 18 months old. I had a fever and I kept crying a lot, so
Mom and Dad just gave me some medicine and kept an eye on me. They did everything you’re supposed to do. I wasn’t throwing up or anything! They put me to bed, figuring some extra rest
would get me babying around again like normal. I don’t remember any of this, obviously,
I just know what my parents have told me when I asked about it. I woke them up in the middle of the night
screaming in pain, and when they ran into my room, I had a HUGE fever and a weird rash
all over my body. Both of them knew what that could mean: meningitis. They hoped for the best and rushed me to the
hospital. Things went from bad to worse once we got
there. They put me into an induced coma to try and
save me from brain damage. The infection was in my blood and I wasn’t
able to stay conscious for very long. I even had a heart attack – before I was
even two years old – because of the stress my little body was under. It was a really scary night for everyone there! They managed to get the infection under control
while I was in the coma, but it was too late to stop it from causing permanent damage. Both of my hands and both of my feet had turned
black from the infection. The doctors told my parents that they would
have to amputate my hands and feet, and probably some of my arms and legs, too. It was probably for the best that I wasn’t
awake to hear that. My parents were devastated, but they knew
that the alternative was losing their only child, so they agreed to go ahead with the
amputation. I ended up losing both of my arms at the elbows,
and both of my legs above the knee. Apparently, the surgeons like to cut off a
little bit more than they need to, just to make totally sure the infected parts are all
gone. I don’t blame them. I was too young to remember the recovery,
but Mom and Dad say it wasn’t as bad as they expected, probably because I was a fighter,
even back then. Sure, I was super woozy and frustrated to
not be able to pick things up anymore, but because I was such a young kid, I got used
to it way quicker than they’d thought. The frustration was the main thing: I would
cry at not being able to do the things I used to. They still had to wait for my stumps to heal
– and yes, I still call them my stumps, or my stubs. And for a long time, I couldn’t shower or
bathe because I couldn’t get the wounds wet. As a kid, I didn’t hate the “no baths”
part. It was a long journey from there. I started seeing a physical therapist named
Lorna. She’s actually still a huge part of my life
still. She started teaching me how to do basic things
without my limbs, like rolling over or repositioning my body. That was our starting point. I loved Lorna; she’s one of my very first
memories. She’s always been really bright, fun and
enthusiastic, and for a toddler going through a tough time, that was the best thing ever. I quickly learned how to move myself in basic
ways without my arms and legs. Then, we moved onto more complicated things,
like picking things up with my stubs, and “toddling” around the room with just the
stumps of my legs. Lorna says that if I’d been a few years
older, and more used to doing things the “normal” way, the recovery would have been a lot harder. Outside of the whole meningitis and no limbs
thing, I developed pretty normally. By the time I could talk, I was pretty aware
of the fact that I wasn’t like other people. I didn’t remember having arms and legs,
but I could definitely tell that other people had something I didn’t. And I could tell that some things were easier
for them than for me. Everyone could walk so fast without any effort,
but any movement at all for me was really hard. Getting prosthetics made helped a ton. They were expensive, but so worth it. I got those bendy, flipper-looking ones for
my legs. You’ve probably seen similar ones on Paralympic
athletes. Basically, as soon as I got the prosthetics
fitted to my legs, I was zooming around on them like I’d had them my whole life. They were a part of me. Oh, I said I’d explain how I type, didn’t
I? Well, I use my mouth to type, or sometimes
a rubber prosthesis attached to one of my arms. Or, sometimes I just set a laptop to voice
recognition mode and talk it all out. Mostly, I hold a pointer in my mouth and use
it to tap the keys. Mystery solved! All right, moving on. Mom and Dad were really worried about me getting
bullied at school, but that was never a problem. That is, it wasn’t until I hit middle school. That was a rough time, not because the bullying
affected me, but because it was annoying that their approach to bullying was just pointing
out that I didn’t have any arms or legs. Like, do you think I didn’t NOTICE? Was I supposed to say “Oh my God, you’re
right! Where’d they go?!”? Give me a break. I ended up going to a pretty “alternative”
high school, which made all the difference after my middle school woes. Everyone there was so much more accepting,
because they were already so used to people with different races, genders, and abilities. I was way more comfortable using my prosthetics
to get around there instead of just relying on a wheelchair. I preferred to move my own body. I liked being in charge. It was at this school that I made a really
awesome group of friends. One of them, Calvin, was on the school swim
team. Out of nowhere one day, he suggested that
I come and swim with him. Calvin was a happy-go-lucky guy, and he said
he really admired the way I was willing to try anything. Swimming, however, was something I had never
done. How do you even swim with no limbs!? Would I just sink to the bottom? Calvin just said, “Well, you can walk with
no limbs, why can’t you swim with no limbs?” And I couldn’t argue with that. I ended up bringing up the swimming thing
in one of my appointments with Lorna. Her eyes lit up and she said there was no
reason why I couldn’t swim. She even volunteered to come along to help
me with my technique and make sure that everything ran smoothly. I was super excited to push myself in this
new way and get to enjoy something that I thought was impossible for me. I texted Calvin to let him know I was in and
he was over the moon. The big day came. We made sure not many people were at the pool
and I got in. I’d been in a pool before – just never
actually swimming. It took a few minutes of bobbing up and down
to get used to the buoyancy and how to move in the water, but I got really good at rolling
over to breathe and using my ab muscles to move myself. If any of you are swimmers and do the butterfly
stroke – that’s the way I kick. With my arm stumps, I just do whatever works,
basically. Most of my swimming ability comes from my
hips and abs. It might sound like I’m exaggerating but
that first day swimming was the best day of my life so far. Yeah, I always knew I could do more than people
thought I could do – but this time, I was doing more than even I thought I could do. I sure showed me! So, that’s how I joined the swim team! Sure, I always had my own lane because I couldn’t
move as fast as people who actually, you know, had legs and arms. But I wasn’t that slow, either. Mom and Dad were so excited to come and watch. Both of them cried, although Dad denies it
to this day. I think a lot people with a disability like
mine would train with a special swim team for the disabled. And there’s nothing wrong with that, of
course. I just think it’s incredibly cool that the
coaches for my school’s team were accepting enough to include me despite my different
needs. It made me feel “normal.” Plus, swimming helped in a lot of other ways
that I didn’t expect, like with my muscle strength and balance. It also helped with another of my issues,
phantom pain. If you don’t know what that is, it’s when
your brain is still getting electrical signals of pain from your hands and feet, even if
they aren’t there anymore. Yes, my foot can hurt even though I haven’t
had feet in almost 20 years. I don’t know why swimming helped so much
with that, but it did. Maybe because my body was finally coming to
terms with the fact that I didn’t have those limbs anymore. As I got more and more into swimming, Lorna
helped me get some special prosthetics for swimming. You can Google them if you want, they look
kinda like flippers. They made everything AMAZING – I could soar
through the water like I was a bird flying through the air. My time at high school is almost over, but
I have a pretty solid plan for the future! After dealing with bullying in middle school,
on top of the difficulties that come with my condition, I want to study to become a
counsellor or social worker so that I can help kids going through the same stuff. After all, if a guy with no arms or legs was
able to overcome hardships, anyone can, right!? I’m looking into joining a proper swimming
team for people with physical disabilities so that I can get a partial or full scholarship
to help me with college – fingers crossed! I’ve always thought it’s funny how I still
use that expression even though I’ve never even remembered having fingers to cross. The message I want you guys to take away from
this story is that, no matter what you’re going through, whether it is mental or physical,
you are still capable of achieving the things you want to achieve. Sometimes you might have to find a way to
make it work for you and your needs, and sometimes the result might not be perfect, but it’s
about the journey, not the destination. It’s about how you overcome the obstacles
in front of you. Sometimes I think about who I would have been
if I’d never gotten meningitis, but then I realise – who cares? This is who I am and I wouldn’t have it
any other way. That kind of self-acceptance is the key to
being happy. Thank you guys so much for listening. It brings me a lot of joy to be able to share
my story with others and, hey, maybe I inspired a few of you to try something you thought
you’d never do. If you liked my story and my message, don’t
forget to like and subscribe for more true stories! Peace out.
