Being 18 weeks pregnant, American Colleen Tidd found out that her unborn child would be born without part of her left limb.
The diagnosis was as follows: fetal symbrachydactyly. This pathology was caused by drugs that his mother took, not knowing about her condition. It was the third child of the woman and she was determined to give birth to him.
“ When I was told on the ultrasound that my baby would be born without a handle, I was just heartbroken .” At first, she was visited by the thought of getting rid of him, but when the emotions stepped aside, she realized that she simply had no right to do so. After all, this is her son, and she cannot take his life from him.
Baby Joseph was born in November 2017, and he would be no different from other babies if he did not have a forearm in his left hand.
Colleen and her husband Miles immediately decided that they would raise the boy strong and he would never feel inferior.
Soon, parents found the Lucky Fin Project on the Internet, it helps to connect people with similar problems and diagnoses.
Over time, the boy’s mother, Colleen, started a page on Instagram. There, she spoke honestly about her special son and posted pictures of him.
“From the very first months of life, we inspired Joseph that he was a normal child and there was nothing that he could not do on his own,” said the boy’s mother.
At the age of one, the parents introduced their son to people who were born without arms. It was at this age that the boy had already begun to pay attention to the fact that both children and adults have two hands.
The Lucky Fin Project helped Colleen, Joseph’s mother, organize a meeting in the park with children and adults with symbrachydactyly.
These meetings really helped the boy to understand that he was not the only one, and people like him still live in the world.
And last April, Colleen, and Miles learned that Orlando Pride women’s football team quarterback Carson Pickett, 25, was also born without an arm. The parents decided that they should definitely introduce Joseph to her.
They came to the stadium in Orlando Pride T-shirts and showed the boy how great Carson was playing. The child was delighted and ahead of him was waiting for another huge surprise.
After the match ended, Carson Pickett walked up to the podium and met the boy.
Joseph looked at the athlete for a while, and then when he realized that they had a lot in common, he smiled broadly. And suddenly, the new friends even “knocked their fists.” Colleen photographed the moment and shared it online.
The photo received a huge number of likes and enthusiastic comments.
“This is a powerful moment! God bless you!”, “It is very touching and very beautiful!”, “Happiness to you, baby,” wrote netizens.
Colleen recalls that she could not hold back her tears when she looked at the happy faces of Carson and Joseph.
“I will tell you honestly that I did not prepare for this meeting, and therefore my emotions and my face were real. We are very similar to this baby, despite the fact that I am much older than him. And he is my friend for the rest of my life,” said Carson Pickett.
Well, now the whole Tidd family regularly goes to the Orlando Pride games, and little Joseph has become the most devoted fan of this team.
Miles and Colleen develop a friendship with Carson’s parents. Treasure and Michael share with them their experiences of raising a child with a disability.
“We are very happy that our son has such a wonderful girlfriend. Carson proves by his example that for people without one arm, nothing is impossible. And she will be able to explain this to our Joseph like no one else,” said Joseph’s parents.
