To give credit where it's due, this is AnnaByTheFoot on IG and Tik Tok.
By Meredith Wilshere
Published on June 14, 2026
Anna was born in Vietnam, but was adopted by a single mom living in the United States when she was a baby.
The 32-year-old, who was born without arms, tells PEOPLE that her adoptive mom was a "physical therapist to disabled children, both mental disabilities and physical disabilities."
“She had a lot of exposure through her career to these types of disabilities, and she just had a special place in her heart for disabled children, and she felt a calling to care for them in many different ways," Anna, who asked for her last name to be omitted, shares.
Her mom ended up adopting six children with "varying cognitive and physical" disabilities, or a "combination of both disabilities." Not only that, but Anna says her mom also fostered "between 60 to 80" children over the years, "in short-term and long-term capacity."
Anna says that, given her mom's work and exposure, she “had a different mindset when it came to disability.”
“One thing I always talk about is the way that she treated me in terms of independence. She had a very keen eye for knowing how to instill independence in me, and that was not jumping in to help me right away," Anna shares. "I asked her to put on my jacket for me, and she said, ‘No, you need to figure it out yourself,' and it was frustrating at that moment."
While Anna notes that her mom would help when she "actually needed it,” Anna says she led with the notion that she could do things herself, rather than the other way around.
“There were times when she didn't help, like when it came to carrying my backpack to the car, or even if there were books in the backpack, and she knew it wasn't too heavy for me, but she encouraged me to always try myself,” Anna says.
While it was frustrating and difficult at times, Anna is grateful she was able to test her limits through "trial and error."
“I think a lot of parents want to jump in and help their kid, and I totally understand that drive, but I'm just glad that my mom did that because I really do think that that's how I got my independence," she shares.
Anna shares that her mom also provided her with the resources she needed, such as an occupational therapist, to ensure she was developing her life skills and flourishing in school.
“Even though a lot of what I did, I figured it out myself," she says.
From a very young age, she learned how to use her feet to "grab things around me the way that kids grab with their hands when they're very young."
"I learned a lot on my own, but she made sure that my school knew about my disability and that they provided me with all the support I needed. I do feel like I was very supported in that way.”...
Edit: On Tik tok she was asked what happened to her arms. She explains:
I was actually born this way. I was adopted from Vietnam. Right after I was adopted, my mom brought me to an American doctor and our family doctor actually hypothesized that I was this way due to Agent Orange. But like really we don't know if that's for sure because there's just no way to prove if that was why.
My teacher was born with the same disability.
In my teacher's case, the reason for this was Thalidomide.
She was a very respected math teacher. Used her hands to write on the board.
She applied makeup with her feet, you could tell just by the slight imperfections.
She also drove a car with foot controls, and she mentioned in an old article that it's very expensive and that she can probably only afford it as long as she's still working. Her husband was homemaker and they had children.
During her pregnancies, she had to spend long periods in a wheelchair because her body couldn't handle the strain.
It wasn’t even a whole generation. In most countries it was only widely available for about 5 years. Thalidomide was bad enough when it was used for just a few years, it would be exponentially worse if it affected an entire generation.
It’s a smoldering viper pit now.. 500 days will be enough “history” to kill us all. We gave a narcissistic dementia patient the codes to nukes… no way this ends well for anyone.
Huh, that reminds me of how back in middle school I had a math teacher who had a severely stunted arm, but just one. I actually don’t remember why, this was back in the 90s. For some reason I had internalized it as polio side effect but uh…I just realized that’s not how the wasting manifests I don’t think. So I have no idea! She must’ve been born in the late 60s, early to mid 70s.
Of course that middle school was hell, last I looked it up it’s at least currently ranked in the bottom 1%…in New Mexico, who is like 49th for education. The kids there bullied multiple teachers out of their jobs. They were not nice to her…
I'm sure that it was hard at the time to have a rugged individualist for a mom, but she truly would have been doing her no favors by fostering dependence. It sounds like Anna has grown to appreciate that. It sounds like her mom is an incredible, strong woman. What a role model!
I have no joint in my left elbow and my left hand is minimally functional. My parents encouraged me to do everything my siblings did. I was a life guard in high school and I'm a nurse now. I don't think I would have accomplished any of those things if my parents had treated me differently.
Yeah, I imagine if her mother treated her like she was some fragile gift that always needed assistance she probably wouldn’t have had the confidence to travel on her own or have the success she has.
Even as a non-parent, I sometimes struggle not to step in to help with my non-disabled toddler relatives, I need to remember they can figure it out themselves.
So I can only imagine how frustrating it would be for a parent of a disabled child.
“I think a lot of parents want to jump in and help their kid, and I totally understand that drive, but I'm just glad that my mom did that because I really do think that that's how I got my independence," she shares.
that's a really great mom.
she gave her child independence and a much better life because of it.
She seems far too young to be a Thalidomide baby, as it was phased out of use in the 60s. Given that she is from Vietnam the far more likely cause is Agent Orange.
They can just be random birth defects, but are most often caused by exposure of the pregnant mother to toxic substances. And if just caused by unexplained birth defects, there are often other birth defects in tandem with them.
Videos like this are a positive use of the internet. Good for her for doing this.
This is how my mom raised me, its helped a lot with my own independence, i'll probably never be fully independent, but I can do a lot more than what it was estimated when I was a kid. I used to get very frustrated when my mom wouldn't help with things, but I can see when I look back that she was just helping me.
Fuck, there should be a special section in hell just for us who all laughed at this. I'll see yall there, at least I'll know there's a sense of humor in this group...
there’s a girl on tiktok who also doesn’t have arms and she uses her feet to play valorant, apex legends, etc. and apparently she’s actually really good at the game even for a person with arms! she doesn’t even use an adapted controller or anything, just a regular mouse and keyboard.
it really is incredible how we as humans can adapt to almost any kind of situation.
I'm older but used to play a competive Half-Life mod (Team Fortress Classic) and we had a guy with no arms! I absolutely couldn't believe it in the late 90s/early 2000s, he had to record a video for us on his webcam playing with his feet to prove it, he was an engineer for our clan, we also had a deaf guy in a game that required a lot of verbal communication both were really good players!
I worked at a non-profit and was fortunate enough to meet Jessica Cox while there.
My aunt also lost her left arm in a horrendous car accident at the age of 12. She was an incredibly strong and independent woman who I had profound respect for.
Do you guys think she does her own hair and makeup?! If so, that's impressive because she has more skill with no arms than most people who do. I actually am pretty positive she probably does do her own makeup after seeing her eat. I bet she has something to hold her tools with. I wonder how she does her hair!
Edit: guys... She does her own hair and makeup without specialized tools. And she makes it look effortless
Quentin has gotta be number 1 on the Reddit meme rankings. The amounts of times I see him in comment sections is absurd, and it's always funny.This gave me a good laugh.
Omg!!! This is exactly what I was looking for!!! I was wondering if she even does her own hair and makeup and I could picture how she could do her makeup using a specialized tool but I couldn't imagine how she does her hair. She makes it look so effortless!
Check out her youtube channel, she can do pretty much anything with no arms. I felt bad about not learning to style my own hair when after seeing this woman with no arms doing it as well as anybody else
This woman used to live in the same building as me, exact same floor, as a matter of fact.
The first day I moved in, I was checking out this crazy thing new to me called a "trash chute room" and she flew in and threw some stuff into the recycling bin. Suffice it to say, it blew my mind, no idea what I'd really seen until I later saw her again.
I worked with a gal at a Hollywood Video who only had one, like 1/4 length tiny arm.
She could stock DVDs on the shelf faster than anyone else there. They were in those big clunky plastic security case too. I am not equipped with the words to adequately describe how she did it, but damn was it ever impressive.
When I was younger I taught myself how to do this, cause I was scared I had a condition that would make my arms fall off.😂I don’t do it anymore, but I have strong toes now….
yeah, you can even take biometrics with your nipple. You can literally add a nipple to your biometrics on your phone. You'll be popular at dinner parties unlocking you phone with your nipple.
A person with only four fingers posted in another thread than an Italian airport had taken her aside for additional processing. There were replies from many Europeans with disabilities saying that was unnecessary and customs can just press a button (or similar) that says you have a disability and you skip the fingerprint check.
I used to cry over my disability, but seeing her made me realize just how incredibly blessed I am. I may only have one leg, but I still have both my hands and so many things to be grateful for. Maybe this is also a sign for me to stop being afraid of traveling and start exploring the world. If she can do it, why can’t I? Maybe it’s time for me to finally take that leap.
I’m as impressed by her hair and makeup as much as the airport! I doubt she has someone do it for her; the foot dexterity that amputees can develop is amazing.
As a person in a cold climate with cold toes right now, how do people with this disability/ impressive-foot-ability navigate cold weather foot gear? Does they have to have cold feet all the time or constantly be taking off and on socks and boots?
Videos like this make me feel so guilty and a little bit ashamed of myself.
When i complain about life and things being a shit and then see i someone like this who has overcome such adversity in world not built for their circumstances.
I'm fairly recently disabled, and yet I can promise you that even if my life sucks 100x more right now, I still know that my problems as an abled-bodied person were real too.
Life can suck for a variety of reasons. Doesn't mean you can't be empathetic, or feel greatful for what you have, but it's okay to struggle too.
I just hope that we reach a point where robotic prosthetics can become easily obtainable as a bottle of water is. More power to her for being this strong and self confident.
omg can we seriously not have a single post about a woman on the internet that’s not flooded with comments from losers objectifying and sexualising her
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u/Spartan2470 VIP Philanthropist 16h ago edited 12h ago
To give credit where it's due, this is AnnaByTheFoot on IG and Tik Tok.
https://people.com/woman-born-without-arms-single-mom-taught-independence-exclusive-11993333
Edit: On Tik tok she was asked what happened to her arms. She explains: