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  • 00:01 TIMMY: I'm just like the other kids. I'm just

  • like them.

  • 00:04 COMM: Linda Bannon and her son Timmy suffer

  • from a rare condition that left them born without arms.

  • 00:10 LINDA: Shirt out or in?

  • TIMMY: Out.

  • 00:13 COMM: But despite their circumstances, the

  • mother and son from Illinois, refuse to let their disabilities stop them from living their

  • life to the full.

  • 00:38 COMM: Affecting only 1 in 100,000 people Linda

  • suffers from Holt Oram syndrome, which also causes heart problems. But that didn't stop

  • 35-year-old Linda living a normal life growing up.

  • 00:52 LINDA: Being born without arms probably from

  • my perspective hasn't really affected my life that much because it never really occurred

  • to me growing up that I was that much different than anybody else.

  • 01:07 COMM: In 2003, Linda met future husband Richard,

  • and when she fell pregnant, Doctors made the couple aware that any child could be born

  • with Linda's condition.

  • 01:17 LINDA: Going through all the checkups that

  • parents go through when they're expecting a baby, we were given the option to terminate

  • the pregnancy but it was never even a consideration of ours, we want a family, we want to have

  • a baby.

  • 01:31 COMM: Timmy suffered from severe heart problems

  • when he was born. At just eight days old, he was rushed into surgery, and spent the

  • first two months of his life in intensive care.

  • 01:43 COMM: But despite his difficult start in life

  • like his mother, Timmy would not allow his disability to get in the way.

  • 01:49 TIMMY: Yeah, that was amazing!

  • 01:52 COMM: The pair refuse to wear prosthetic limbs,

  • and insist their conditions have never held them back. Whether it's cooking, getting dressed

  • or playing video games.

  • 02:02 TIMMY: Ah I love this one!

  • 02:02 COMM: While Linda does everything she can

  • to maintain her independence, Richard is always ready to help out.

  • 02:09 RICHARD: I do have to help in the bathroom,

  • other than that the other stuff that I help with, she can do herself but me feeling like

  • I'm supposed to be helping her, I do them for her ever though I don't necessarily need

  • to.

  • 02:29 COMM: At school Timmy is treated like any

  • other student.

  • 02:32 TIMMY: I'm just like the other kids. I'm just

  • like them. And I’ll be just like them every time of my life.

  • 02:39 PRINCIPAL: Timmy’s personality is such that

  • he gets along with all of his classmates, they accept him for who he is, they play along

  • with each other, I think the kids don’t even recognise that Timmy has some special

  • needs.

  • 02:53 COMM: And when school's over, Timmy and Linda

  • are often found at the local pool.

  • 02:59 TIMMY: I keep a float on by like using my

  • butt a little bit and I go under by on my back or on my front.

  • 03:12 COMM: Along with managing Timmy's busy sports

  • schedule, and working as a Kindergarten teacher, Linda is also hoping to help other people

  • with the same condition.

  • 03:21 LINDA: I've been starting taking classes in

  • business management with the hope of starting a non-profit organisation to help families

  • of children that are like myself and my son.

  • 03:36 COMM: Linda knows that Timmy will face a difficult

  • future. But is hopeful he will learn to live with his condition and have a happy life.

  • Just like her.

  • 03:45 LINDA: My biggest concern for him is just

  • what will happen if he does not find that companionship, because with my husband I have

  • that person that when my parents have gone from this Earth, I have a person that will

  • look after me and help me and do things for me that my parents used to do. We really hope

  • that he'll find someone, we'll have to wait and

00:01 TIMMY: I'm just like the other kids. I'm just

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