FROM THE HEART OF A YOUNG NIGERIAN MOTHER - Meet Rosemary Siggins, A Mom and a Half

Let me introduce you to a woman who helps me understand that, though I have a lot to deal with as a working 21st century mum, I've got what it takes to make it.

She is less than two feet tall but she remodels cars. She walks with her arms and rides a skateboard. Her name is Rosemary Siggins and she only has half a body.

Imagine a Barbie doll. Now imagine it with its legs taken out, leaving just the torso. That’s what Rose looks like.

Rose was born with a rare genetic disorder called Sacral Agenesis. This means that there was an abnormal development of her lower spine. Because her legs were severely deformed at birth and Rose was in danger of harming herself, her mother, after consulting several doctors, decided to have them amputated when Rose was two years old.

For years, she was forced to wear artificial limbs in a bid to make her look like everyone else. She rebelled when she was in the eighth grade and turned up for school one day on a skateboard. She insisted she wanted to be normal and refused to use a wheelchair. This meant that Rose uses her hands to move from place to place.

Rose met her husband Dave in 1997 and married him two years later; two years after that she discovered that she was pregnant. It was unprecedented for a woman in her condition to carry a baby to term, much less successfully deliver one. Only one doctor was willing to support the couple’s decision to have the baby as the foetus grew transversely, unlike normal pregnancies. Rose successfully delivered a baby boy and a few years later, a baby girl was added to the family.

After her mother lost the battle to cancer, Rose was faced with the added responsibility of not only running that family automobile business, but also looking after her mentally handicapped bother and her father who has Schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s.

This Colorado native cooks for her family and cleans her house. She goes to her local supermarket to buy her groceries. She gets her kids ready for school and drives a car she and her father adapted with hand controls for her use.

Her bravery, sadly, is not without a price. Walking with her hands means that she has been using her shoulder joints like a pelvis. This has led to a lot of wear, resulting in a weakening of her joints. Rose will eventually have to use a wheel chair to take the pressure off them.

Her response to her situation is this: "A lot of people with disabilities feel that life owes them something, and I was raised in a way that no, no-one owes you a dime. The world doesn't owe you anything, this is what you have and you use your resources and you get through life. My personal opinion is, get up and go for it, just do it." 

It was William James who said,”The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitude of mind.”

Rose Siggins; wife, mother, business owner and primary caregiver has certainly made this discovery. I hope you do too.

Sources: UK Channel 5’s Series ‘Extraordinary People’

              THS Investigates (E! Entertainment Network Documentary)