When Jessica Cox was born without arms, doctors had little hope she would ever live an independent life.
But she’s proved them wrong again and again. When Closer met her three years ago, she’d just become the first person in the world with no arms to get a pilot’s licence, flying an aeroplane with her size 6 feet – aged just 26.
'I didnt know if anyone would ever love me'
Now 29, she’s reached another milestone and tied the knot with her boyfriend of two years, karate instructor Patrick Chamberlain.
Jessica, from Arizona in the US, used her foot to put Patrick’s wedding ring on his finger. She says: “My wedding day was a dream come true. I didn’t know if anyone would ever love me. The next step is to have a baby.”
When Jessica was born in 1983, doctors were unable to explain why her disability hadn’t been picked up on ultrasound scans. Devastatingly, her parents, nurse Inez, 62, and musician Bill, 72, were told she’d always be dependent on them.
But Jessica soon proved the doctors wrong. Instead of crawling, she shuffled around on her bottom at five months
old and, by the time she was 18 months old, she could walk.
Aged three, she mastered using her feet to wash and feed herself – now she can even put in her contact lenses with her toes.
“My disability frustrated me at times, like when I struggled to tie my shoelaces,” she says. “But I’m so proud of what I’ve achieved.”
Jessica was fitted with prosthetic arms while at school, but gave up on them when she was 15, finding it easier to use her feet and toes to do everything.
Amazingly, Jessica has since earned a black belt in karate, learned to drive and, since 2005, she’s worked as a motivational speaker across the world.
In 2008, she became a licensed pilot. During her first solo flight, she wore a T-shirt reading: “Look Mum, no hands!”
'Patrick proposed with a gold engagement anklet instead of a ring'
Despite having dated in the past, Jessica never thought she’d find someone who would see beyond her disability, until she met Patrick in May 2010, when he became an instructor at her karate school.
“Patrick asked me out for lunch and told me how impressed he was that I adapted so well without arms. He didn’t treat me differently. He just saw me as Jessica, which is why I fell in love with him. We’re like any other couple.”
A year later, Patrick, 28, proposed with a gold engagement anklet instead of a ring and the couple got married in California last May.
“Usually, I’m forced to buy clothes with sleeves even though I’ve got nothing to fill them, but I had my dress custom-made, with no sleeves for arms. Walking down the aisle, I felt so beautiful.”
Jessica followed tradition in her own way. “A bride and groom usually exchange rings, but I put Patrick’s ring on his finger using my toes and he fitted a gold chain around my left ankle,” she says.
“Patrick cut the cake and I fed him a slice using my foot, which gave everyone a laugh.
“The day was amazing – my parents always told me I’d meet someone who saw me the way they did and they were right.”
The couple moved in together after the wedding. “I’m used to doing the cooking and cleaning myself, using my feet, so it’s great to share it!” Jessica laughs.
Now, the couple are planning a family. “There’s only a one-in-a-million chance our baby would be born with the same rare birth defect, so I’m not worried,” Jessica says.
And she says she’ll throw herself into the challenges of motherhood, adding: “I’ve changed friends’ babies’ nappies before with my feet – I’ll adjust, as I always have done.”