Imagine if you were born without any arms. How would you put on your make-up, text your friends, or eat with a knife and fork?

Well, it hasn’t stopped 36-year-old Linda Bannon doing all of that. Born with the rare genetic disorder Holt-Oram syndrome, which affects the heart and causes skeletal abnormalities, Linda used prosthetic limbs until the age of 12, but cast them aside when she realised they were more of a hinderance than a help.

Since then, she’s mastered the art of using her feet as hands, so she can swim, sew, write and play her guitar with the best of them. She certainly hasn’t let the condition (which affects one in 100,000) hold her back. And her sunny outlook is infectious.

"I try to be as active as possible and figure out ways to adapt to all kinds of activities," she beams. "I’d say I’m quite an adventurous person."

In fact, the only thing she leaves to her husband Rick, a hospital porter who she lives with in Chicago, is the driving – and that is for safety reasons.

After meeting at the gym and playfully competing over weight-lifting and sit-ups, the two dated, fell in love and Rick later proposed at the same restaurant
where they’d had their first date.

It wasn’t long before they decided to start a family, but they had to accept the possibility their child might inherit Linda’s disorder – there was a 50 per cent chance.

"We discussed having a family even before getting engaged. I always knew I wanted to be a mum, so it would have been a bit of a deal breaker," says Linda. "When Rick said he wanted kids too, we talked about the chance of them having similar disabilities to me, but he said, 'Yes, there may be challenges – but we could rise to them.'"

CLICK HERE TO COMPLETE THE STORY AND SEE MORE PICTURES:[url][/url]http://www.nairaroot.com/mother-and-son-both-born-armless/#.VdC1bciL3IV

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nairaroot:
Imagine if you were born without any arms. How would you put on your make-up, text your friends, or eat with a knife and fork?

Well, it hasn’t stopped 36-year-old Linda Bannon doing all of that. Born with the rare genetic disorder Holt-Oram syndrome, which affects the heart and causes skeletal abnormalities, Linda used prosthetic limbs until the age of 12, but cast them aside when she realised they were more of a hinderance than a help.

Since then, she’s mastered the art of using her feet as hands, so she can swim, sew, write and play her guitar with the best of them. She certainly hasn’t let the condition (which affects one in 100,000) hold her back. And her sunny outlook is infectious.

"I try to be as active as possible and figure out ways to adapt to all kinds of activities," she beams. "I’d say I’m quite an adventurous person."

In fact, the only thing she leaves to her husband Rick, a hospital porter who she lives with in Chicago, is the driving – and that is for safety reasons.

After meeting at the gym and playfully competing over weight-lifting and sit-ups, the two dated, fell in love and Rick later proposed at the same restaurant
where they’d had their first date.

It wasn’t long before they decided to start a family, but they had to accept the possibility their child might inherit Linda’s disorder – there was a 50 per cent chance.

"We discussed having a family even before getting engaged. I always knew I wanted to be a mum, so it would have been a bit of a deal breaker," says Linda. "When Rick said he wanted kids too, we talked about the chance of them having similar disabilities to me, but he said, 'Yes, there may be challenges – but we could rise to them.'"

CLICK HERE TO COMPLETE THE STORY AND SEE MORE PICTURES:[url][/url]http://www.nairaroot.com/mother-and-son-both-born-armless/#.VdC1bciL3IV

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