Twelve People with a Limb Difference to Follow on Instagram

Instagram is multi-faceted. It can be a time suck. But it can also be life-changing, in a good way. Our patient Candice was born with her limb difference. As a child, because of the prosthetic technology available at the time and Candice's unique through the palm limb difference, her parents weren't able to find a device that was comfortable and functional. Fast-forward to Candice as an adult who didn’t use a prosthesis. One day she was looking at social media and happened upon an image of a model wearing a prosthesis that was bionic and cool. It made Candice curious — how much had prosthetic devices changed since she was a kid?

Long story short, Candice was very happy with the multi-articulating myoelectric fingers fit by our Arm Dynamics center in Portland.

We wanted to highlight some excellent Instagram accounts. These profiles are patients of ours. Some of them have congenital limb differences and some have amputations. All of them are awesome!

Angel is a successful actress who was born with a below-elbow limb difference. Additionally, she's a strong advocate for people with limb differences being cast on TV and in movies. She’s been wearing prostheses since she was six weeks old.

Lauren experienced a below-elbow amputation several years ago in an accident. Lauren had a son in April of 2022 and is expecting a daughter this year.

Eduardo has a below-elbow amputation due to an accident he experienced while foraging in the mountains near his home. While in the hospital, he wondered if there were any amputee chefs out there. Now he is one — with his own TV show, called "Big Sky Kitchen"!

Angie had a partial hand amputation in 2020 after an accident. Now she’s an ambassador for Point Designs, which is the company that makes the passive digits she wears.

Wendi had an above-elbow elective amputation after 19 surgeries failed to relieve the pain or return the function in her left arm, which she injured while snowboarding. Wendi spends her downtime working out, paddle boarding, and playing with her tween son.

Jason was driving a four-wheeler on his farm when a fallen power line hit him in the chest, which resulted in a bilateral upper limb amputation. Jason is an author of Handed a Greater Purpose and the father of three teenagers.

Diana was in an ATV accident that resulted in an above-elbow amputation. Diana took advantage of the Lauren Skruggs Foundation to receive a passive silicone restoration she could wear to her wedding. She has two young children.

Merlyna is an elementary school principal turned motivational speaker. After a life-threatening sepsis infection, Merlyna lost all four of her limbs. She now travels everywhere to be the keynote speaker at a variety of events.

Abe lives in Tennessee with his wife and grown children. In 2019, he experienced an accident at work that led to the amputation of his left arm below his elbow. Abe travels to our Dallas center for his prosthetic care because he knows that it is worth it for him to receive specialized care. Additionally, he recently started The Wounded Wing Foundation, with the goal of helping upper limb amputees that need emotional support.

Shaholly is a congenital amputee and a model. She wore prosthetic devices on and off as a child, and the one she wore as she became an adult was too clunky for her liking. Our Portland center fit her with a streamlined multi-articulating myoelectric device. Click through to her profile to see her newest rose-gold frame.

Rachel was born with symbrachydactyly, meaning her left hand wasn’t fully formed and she was missing some fingers. She’s been on a journey since then, and recently had surgery to remove her thumb. Rachel worked as a national reality show producer for many years who traveled all over the country on her job. Her Instagram posts are lovely and positive despite her trials.

Justin was a lineman who came into contact with a hot wire. He became a bilateral upper limb amputee. Justin’s Instagram page reflects his love of fast cars, along with snowboarding and hiking with his dogs in the mountains where he lives .

Bonus! Alexis isn’t a patient of ours, but we wanted to include her because she makes us laugh. Alexis has a below-elbow congenital limb difference. Her videos often focus on cooking, but as of late, she’s been doing cosplay with her stump. In the post below, though, you can see her having fun with her son.