16/06/2021
“I have wondered what it would be like to have more than one child, I won't have enough arms to hold them,” James said as he laughed casually.
Not a hint of sorrow… not a moment wasted in questioning destiny as to why them?
9 years ago, James lost his arm and leg in an accident.
Ashley is a congenital amputee. Which means that she was born with the lower part of her right arm missing.
I went to their home for this photo session with the assumption that there would be pain… a hidden moment of anger… a silent grief but what I was faced with was, strength, belief and like they said “persistence".
“I didn’t want to have children because I thought I wouldn't be able to hold her. How will I support her head while feeding? How will I tie her shoe laces? Or change her clothes… but it all worked itself out. Elara realises that mummy and daddy just have to do things differently. So she works with us on solutions.”
“You know how it is… with being limb different… you just have to be persistent.”
Ashley is a successful model and an advocate for families that have a limb different member, which includes sharing helpful tips through her social media platforms. Since his accident, James has worked with Japanese gaming giant Konami to personally design and develop his own advanced bionic arm – earning himself the nickname Metal Gear Man. Since then, he's become a speaker, BBC presenter and model.
They have the most beautiful 2-year-old daughter Elara, who truly is a ray of sunshine.
Meeting them threw light on my own incapabilities as a person. So often I have questioned life and circumstances… given excuses and said, I could do better if life was fair to me…
No more… no more will I wait for life to fix its course… I will instead fix mine. Because circumstances don’t define you… YOU DO!!
Sujata
