Inspirations
Although Arthrogryposis is considered a rare condition, the more we look around there are so many stories about people with Arthrogryposis. We have compiled this list of inspirational stories for Jetson and others affected by Arthrogryposis.
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Luca 'Lazylegz' - Luca "LazyLegz" Petuelli is a breakdancer who performed at the 2010 Vancouver Paralympic Games. Visit his website www.lazylegz.com for a video of his performance. Luca has also appeared on The Today Show and America's Got Talent.
Jose Almeida: A medical Doctor (pediatrician) with multiple congenital arthrogryposis.
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Sunny Taylor - an American painter and activist. Visit her website www.sunaurataylor.org for examples of her paintings.
Jessica Ruiz: a makeup artist who has defiled the odds despite her disability. Her arthrogryposis has limited use of her hands and she usually moves around on a wheelchair. Despite her disability, Jessica is proud to be an expert in applying makeup, the ability to make a face makeover and lift a person's confidence using cosmetics. In applying makeup to customers, Jessica uses her teeth to hold the brush, steadying it out with her tongue.
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Theresa Lucas - artist http://www.theresalucas.com/ - "I don't like to say DISability, because to me DIS means cant, and I CAN, just differently".
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Sarah Kovac - a woman with athrogryposis, who has posted a youtube video of herself driving with her feet, and another of her changing her baby's nappy.
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Abby - A website in honor of Abby has been created by her mother. The is a very positive story with lots of information about her condition and development. See www.forabby.com.
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Louie - A mother's blog about her son Louie's journey with Amyoplasia, who is truly in awe of her son's achievements, and wants to inspire and share her story with other families.
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Rion Paige - country singer
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Athletes:
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Lee Pearson - a British 9-time gold medal winner at the Paralympic games in the sport of equestrian. He won three gold medals in the championship dressage, freestyle dressage, and team dressage events at the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Summer Paralympics. He also has been awarded the Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) and Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).
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Will Bayley (table tennis)
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Paul Borwne (English archer)
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Some More
More examples of people with Arthrogryposis, from a list originally seen on Wikipedia:
- Celestine Tate Harrington, a quadriplegic street musician who performed at the Atlantic City Boardwalk and author of the 1996 book, "Some Crawl and Never Walk."
- Asta Philpot, an American-born man living in England, who was the protagonist of a BBC documentary about prostitution as a means of offering the chance of sexual experiences to people with disabilities.
- Josh Twelves, a YouTube comedian actor from Utah.
- Prudence Mabhena, lead singer for the band "Liyana" and subject of the short documentary Music by Prudence, which won an Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject).
- Charles R. Martin Jr., M.D., an American man living in Phoenix who was born with arthrogryposis but through perseverance and drive became the only Medical Doctor in the history of the American Medical Association with this condition, who cared for and performed minor surgical procedures on patients.
- John Nellie Nelson, A Pacific Lutheran University football coach and ambassador to the PLU community.
- Randy Fitzgerald, A professional gamer who goes by the gamertag "NoM4D" and plays only with his lips and chin.
Stories
Deformed: My Remarkable Life, by Valerie Pepe (2016)
An inspirational story of a woman's successful struggle to overcome a rare birth defect known as Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congenita (AMC), Valerie has fought a never-ending battle against those who would isolate her and other deformed individuals.
Thank My Lucky Scars
by Ward Foley
An entertaining and inspirational story by Ward Foley who was born with Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congenita (AMC)
Some Crawl and Never Walk
by Celestine Tate
The story about a woman's survival against all odds.
Bartholomew's Gift
An inspiring story of how one young man coped with his severe disability. Religious.
Just a Krooked Kid
by Goodwin Hale
Written by a man born at the beginning of the Great Depression with arthrogryposis multiplex congenita (AMC). Despite his parents being told by doctors that he would never walk and would be totally dependent for his entire life, he walked when age five, attended public schools, learned to drive a car, married with two children and five grand- children, and became a lawyer.
The Crooked Lawyer
A novel by James E. "Pat" Patterson in which the main character has Arthrogryposis.
Famous people also born with club foot
- the Roman emperor Claudius
- Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun
- statesman Prince Talleyrand
- Civil War politician Thaddeus Stevens
- comedian Damon Wayans
- actors Gary Burghoff, Dudley Moore and Eric The Midget from The Howard Stern Show
- footballer Steven Gerrard
- sledge hockey player Matt Lloyd (Paralympian)
- mathematician Ben Greenberg
- filmmaker Jennifer Lynch (daughter of David Lynch).
- British Romantic poet Lord Byron
- Actor/musician/comedian Dudley Moore
- Kristi Yamaguchi was born with a clubfoot, and went on to win figure skating gold in 1992
- Soccer star Mia Hamm
- Baseball pitcher Larry Sherry
- baseball pitcher Jim Mecir
- Tom Dempsey of the New Orleans Saints was born with a right club foot and no toes (this was his kicking foot), kicked an NFL record 63 yard field goal.
