Earning a black belt in the marital arts
or being issued a pilot’s license are both substantial accomplishments
that take years to achieve. But 30-year-old Jessica Cox has achieved
both despite being born without arms.
Cox first rose to fame in 2008 when the
Guinness World Records recognized her for becoming the first person
without arms to fly an airplane.
And now, the Arizona native is the
subject of a new documentary, “Rightfooted,” which Cox says she hopes
will serve as an inspirational and teaching tool to disabled youth
around the world.
“Had I watched a film similar to this
one earlier in my life, I know it would have made a difference,” Cox
says in a trailer for the film.
The International Documentary
Association is sponsoring the production of Rightfooted, which has
already surpassed its $30,000 fundraising goal posted on the
crowd-funding site Indiegogo.
“Jessica Cox has learned to do all of those things and much more — with her feet. Against all odds but with strong faith and the help of her family, she put herself through high school
and then college, typing papers with her toes,” reads a summary of the
film on the site. “She got her driver’s license and then astonishingly,
her pilots license – a feat that landed her in the Guinness Book of
World Records as the world’s only armless pilot.”
Cox says her current goal is to become a
motivational speaker, particularly for other children born without
arms. But she says she believes her message can reach millions of youths
working to overcome a variety of disabilities.
As the next step in that quest, she has been invited by Handicap International to work with disable students in Ethiopia.
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