Inspirational: How Two Women, Jlissa Austin And Chassidy Young Became Best Friends In A World That Felt Lonely
Two women who are missing limbs have become best friends through their comparable hardship. Jlissa Austin, 31, who was born without arms, knees and with only seven toes, met Chassidy Young, 32, who lives with Tetra-Amelia syndrome, after learning each other’s life story through a documentary.
Tetra-Amelia syndrome is a rare congenital disorder that has left Chassidy without hands and very short legs. The two women have since become best friends through their very rare similarities. The pair decided to meet in person for and Chassidy travelled across Texas, in the US, from her home in Dallas, to Jlissa, who lives in Houston.
Chassidy said:
“I saw Jlissa’s story and I got so emotional.
“I was like, I can’t be the only person on this whole earth missing arms. Where they at?!
“And then Jlissa confirmed there’s actually somebody out there who shares the same experience as me.
“I was just like, I have to find her.
“When you don’t see people like you, it feels like you’re the only person in the world that’s like that.
“Everybody needs an identity. I’m so happy to have met Jlissa because I now have somebody to identify with.
“You know, we have our family and we have our friends. But it’s those moments where you need somebody like you because we have our own struggles that they could never relate to.”
Some 30 years ago, doctors predicted Jlissa would never be able to lead a normal life and, to this day, she is still unsure of what caused her abnormalities. But Jlissa has certainly proved her doubters wrong – learning to use her feet when conducting everyday tasks like brushing her teeth and texting on her phone.
She said:
“Most of the questions I get are basically, ‘How do you eat?’, ‘how do you write?’, ‘who takes you to the restroom?’, ‘who puts your make-up on?’.
“My condition hasn’t affected anything in my life.
“There are so many people that aren’t able to be themselves because they are scared of the world.
“You need to be yourself and be thankful. That’s what me and Chassidy are doing now.”
Chassidy can also use her feet to perform activities that she would otherwise struggle with. They have been on the receiving end of lots of staring and pointing in public spaces, but they’ve quickly learnt to ignore their haters and stay positive with the people closest to them.
Chassidy said:
“I prefer it for kids to come up and say to me, ‘Hey lady, what’s up, where’s your hands at, why are you so little like me?’
“And then we can have a conversation. I always try not to be offended.
“I don’t call it disability, because that makes it sound like something is restricting you from doing something else. It restricts you from getting from A to B.
“But I’ve made it. A, B, C, D. E, F, G – you name it.”
Jlissa and Chassidy have racked up thousands of followers on their social profiles. Jlissa has also found love in a able-bodied man despite her disability.
Watch the video of Jlissa with her boyfriend talkin about her reality: