Living Without Limbs Brought Us Together | BORN DIFFERENT

TWO inspirational women who are missing limbs have become best friends through their comparable hardship – and it’s all thanks to Barcroft TV. Jlissa Austin, 31, stands at 3’4” and was born without arms, knees and with only seven toes. Chassidy Young, 32, lives with Tetra-Amelia syndrome – also 3’4”, she was born with a rare congenital disorder that has left her without hands and with very short legs. Both women filmed documentaries for Barcroft TV’s ‘Born Different’ series earlier this year, and after watching each other’s life story, they have since become best friends through their very rare similarities. With their friendship going from strength to strength, they have now met in person for the very first time with Chassidy travelling across state from her home in Dallas Texas, to Jlissa who lives in Houston. Neither of them had ever met anyone like themselves before and Barcroft TV were there to capture the emotional moment on camera. 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’m so happy to have met Jlissa because I now have somebody to identify with. 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. And Chassidy, similarly, has learnt to use her feet to perform activities that she would otherwise struggle with. Both women have racked up thousands of followers on their social profiles and remain thankful to Barcroft TV for bringing them together. Jlissa added: “The future is strong for me and Chassidy. We’re friends forever.”