Two inspirational women who are missing limbs have become best friends through their comparable hardship.
Jlissa Austin, 31, from Houston, Texas, stands at 3’4” and was born without arms, knees and with only seven toes.
Chassidy Young, 32, from Dallas, lives with Tetra-Amelia syndrome – also 3’4”, she was born with a rare congenital disorder that has left her without hands and very short legs.
After sharing their stories in the media, 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 to visit Jlissa.
Neither of them had ever met anyone like themselves before and the emotional moment of their meeting was captured on camera.
Chassidy Young, 32, and Jlissa Austin, 31. (right) from Texas, felt no one understood what they were going through, until they found each other and became best friends
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 was just like, “I have to find her”.
‘When you don’t see people like you, it feels like you’re the only person in the world that’s like that.
Chassidy traveled across state from her home in Dallas, to Jlissa who lives in Houston in order to meet her
Chassidy and Jlissa met in Houston with Jlissa’s partner Jonathan (right) and Chassidy’s sister Ashley (left)
‘Everybody needs an identity. I’m so happy to have met Jlissa because I now have somebody to identify with.
‘You know, we have our family and we have our friends. But it’s those moments where you need somebody like you, because we have our own struggles that they could never relate to.”
Some 30 years ago, doctors predicted Jlissa would never be able to lead a normal life and, to this day, she is still unsure of what caused her abnormalities.
But 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.
Jlissa, who is set to be married next year to partner of 14 years Jonathan, said doctors predicted she’d never be able to live a normal life
The two women, who say their birth defects don’t limit their lives, said they got emotional when they found out about each other
She said: ‘Most of the questions I get are basically, “How do you eat?”, “How do you write?”, “Who takes you to the restroom?”, “Who puts your makeup on?”.
‘My condition hasn’t affected anything in my life.
‘There are so many people that aren’t able to be themselves because they are scared of the world.
‘You need to be yourself and be thankful. That’s what me and Chassidy are doing now.”
Chassidy was born without hands and with short legs and lives with the Tetra-Amelia syndrome
As she got ready to meet Jlissa at home in Dallas, Chassidy (pictured getting her hair and makeup done) could barely hide her excitement
Chassidy, similarly, has learnt to use her feet to perform activities that she would otherwise struggle with.
Both women have been on the receiving end of lots of staring and pointing in public spaces, but they’ve quickly learnt to ignore their haters and stay positive with the people closest to them.
Chassidy said: ‘I prefer it for kids to come up and say to me, “Hey lady, what’s up, where’s your hands at, why are you so little like me?”.
‘And then we can have a conversation. I always try not to be offended.
Jlissa (pictured) was born with birth defects that left her with no knees, just seven toes and no arms. She’s found love with a close friend, Johnathan Shorter (pictured)
Chassidy, pictured with Ashley, said she felt her future had ‘zero limits’ and wants to advocate for people who, like her, feel they are different
‘I don’t call it disability, because that makes it sound like something is restricting you from doing something else. It restricts you from getting from A to B.
‘But I’ve made it. A, B, C, D. E, F, G – you name it.’
Jlissa and Chassidy have racked up thousands of followers on their social profiles and remain thankful to the Barcroft TV series, Born Different, for bringing them together.
Chassidy said: ‘I really appreciate Barcroft TV and what they do. My experience with them has been amazing.
‘I hope they continue to help raise awareness.’
Jlissa added: ‘I’ve really loved the experience of telling my story. And through Born Different, I’ve had so many positive messages. I’m just so glad for the opportunity.’
Jlissa is currently planning her wedding with fiancé, Jonathan, a 5’6” able-bodied man – with a date set for next year.
Whilst Chassidy, along with Jlissa, is continuing to be an advocate for people with ‘disabilities’ and is helping others to learn to love their body no matter what.
Chassidy said: ‘I think my future has zero limits.
‘Being an advocate for people with ‘disabilities’ is very important to me, so I’ll continue to do that.”
The two of them are thrilled to have met each other in person and can’t wait to continue their friendship.
Jlissa added: ‘The future is strong for me and Chassidy. We’re friends forever.’