Hello. I am so glad my fiance found this site.  I am nearly 21 years old and I have never met anyone with any deformities like mine.  It is so easy to feel like an outsider with deformities such as mine, and I was very interested to be able to read other people's stories.  Here is a brief caption of my story:

I as born on December 31, 1984.  I was the first child in my family and the only born with these deformities.  I was born with all of my fingers attached on each of my hands and only about a forth of the size of normal fingers.  Also, there was a very tight band around my right leg that needed to be removed right away in order to insure I would be able to fully use that leg properly.  Also, all of my toes are shorter than most peoples with slight deformities on the big toes and the toes right next to them.

I went through a series of operations that separated each of my fingers one at a time.  As I look through my baby photo album, there are a lot of pictures of me with a large cast on one of my hands.  I was very young when the operations started but I do have a few memories of being very confused because it was not until I started school when I realized I was, indeed, different.

School was very hard.  Kindergarten was not nearly as bad as elementary and middle school.  I was called butterfingers, among other names, and teased constantly.  Much of the teasing and memories I had to endure in the younger parts of my childhood still haunts me today.  However, I think, through my experiances, I am a lot more open to other people's differences and disabilities. Now, I am a third year college student and I am still very self conscious about my hands and feet.  When I meet new people, I always try to hide my hands.

I am able to do all things that anyone else can do, except paint my nails because I do not have any (which is not a big deal except when you are a teenager when everyone around you is painting theirs).  Today, my left hand's fingers can only bend at the base of the hand and are very short.  Also, the two middle fingers on that hand are more connected than the rest.  My right hand is a lot more mobile but still heavily deformed.  I have been able to adjust my life to my unique hands. I am also working on being more comfortable with them so I don't feel the need to hide them so often.  Maybe one day I will meet someone else with a deformity like mine and be able to listen to his or her story and share mine.