It takes more than just arms and legs to make a great dad and Ryan Hudson-Peralta is proof of that.
Born with Congenital Limb Deficiency, which means his legs and arms and severely shortened, he’s still an inspiration to his two kids.
Watch his inspiring story here:
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Video credit: Rumble
The 3ft 6”, 40-year-old is a motivational speaker and positive mentor to others, especially to his family as he is a loving father and husband.
Despite his limb difference, he can still drive by himself, do daily tasks, and even works as a successful user-interface designer for Rocket Mortgage in Detroit, Michigan.
Ryan even goes out of his way to inspire other families across the US who have children with similar conditions.
Ryan said: “Putting a smile on someone’s face, I can’t even explain the feeling. It’s amazing.
“Every day in our life we’re going to face some challenges – we’re going to build them up and we’re going to knock them down.
“One of my main goals is that I want to share my story with families that have children born like me.”
Ryan’s parents were informed about his condition as soon as he was born.
Ryan said: “When I was first born, the doctors took me away from my parents.
“My mom asked them, ‘Where’s my son at?’, and they said, ‘There has been a problem – your son was born with no arms or legs and before we bring him in, we want you to know it’s okay if you don’t want to keep him’.
And my mom said, ‘That’s my son, bring me my son now’. They said that ‘Ryan would never have a regular job, or go to school, or drive a car, never be able to have a family’. So when somebody tells you, you can’t do something – that’s just the fire, the fuel to make sure I can.
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Ryan’s positive outlook on life as helped immensely by a strong support system.
“I met my wife when I was 20 years old,” he said.
“She’s been my biggest fan. The biggest and best support I could ever have. And then, my kids, they are my life. Everything I do, I do for them.”
Carrie, Ryan’s wife, added: “When I first met Ryan, I didn’t see him as being different. We just connected. We hit it off right away and that was it.”
Still, the questions when Ryan is out in public are unavoidable.
He said: “The kind of questions I get always range from like, ‘How do you drive?’, ‘How do you eat?’, ‘How do you have children?’ – any question you can think of. Everyone’s like, ‘Doesn’t that bother you?’ – the hardest thing about living with no arms and legs is that people see me without arms and legs. I don’t want you to look at me as someone with no arms and legs, I want you to look at me as ‘my friend’ or ‘my colleague’.”
Speaking about his work to help families whose children have similar conditions as his, he said: “A few years ago, I was at work and someone ran up to me and said, ‘Hey, my cousin’s wife is having a baby and she’s going to be born without arms – would you mind meeting with her?’
“And I said of course! I would love to. When I was younger, I didn’t know anyone like me. So I just love that I’m able to meet kids that are born like me and maybe teach them a few things.”
Ryan has recently been visiting the home of Valerie Canter whose daughter Gabriella as born without arms.
Valerie said: “We found out about Ryan when I was pregnant. We were so excited to meet him because there was so much unknown. Gabriella just turned two in August and she was born with no arms and shortened legs. Ryan is just an invaluable person to us. It was such a comfort to meet someone who is never letting anything stop him.”
Ryan is excited about the future and is eager to share his positive energy and impart awareness to others.
“There’s a saying, failure is not an option – my saying is failure is a must,” he said.
“You can’t learn anything in life unless you fail at it and you try and try again. When I sit back and think about all the adversity I’ve faced and everything I’ve ever had to deal with, I’m definitely proud of myself.”
If you want to know more about what Ryan is doing, visit his website at LookMomNoHands.com.
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