No arms, no problem for little Jhanelle

Although she is the tiniest in her household, Jhanelle Evans has the loudest mouth and gives orders to everyone around her.

She is curious, playful and energetic and keeps her mother Kay-Ann Josephs and other loved ones entertained with her cheerful spirit. The two-year-old was born without her upper limbs, but that has not slowed her down as she has hurdled milestones just like any able-bodied toddler.

"Jhanelle is a jovial baby and she loves to talk. She is very feisty and she acts way older than her age. She likes Cocomelon and Peppa Pig and she literally just likes to have her own way," Josephs said.

In addition to not having upper limbs, Jhanelle also suffers from infantile scoliosis, a dislocated right hip and is missing a few of her ribs. Infantile scoliosis is an abnormal sideways curve of the spine that affects infants and toddlers. The condition refers to scoliosis that occurs in children younger than three years old.

Josephs told THE WEEKEND STAR that she had a normal pregnancy and ultrasounds report revealed that her foetus was thriving with all her limbs intact. However, the 26-year-old said she was stunned when she saw the physical features of her newborn on April 21, 2023.

"I found out that she had no upper limbs the day she was burn at Victoria Jubilee Hospital. I was very sad and traumatised because I was expecting a healthy baby. She was admitted for a month because she had a breathing issue. I cried for about three months, but thankfully I had a good support system from my family and her father's family," she said.

When Jhanelle took her first step, she defied the odds as orthopedists had told her mother that the chances of her walking were slim. But currently, she prances around the household and even chases her older sister on a daily basis.

"When she reach four months, that was when we see she started using her feet to do things and she started rolling over and sitting up. Later on she started saying 'Mama' and 'Dada' and if she wanted something she would use her feet to point or reach for it," Josephs said.

"We were all just very happy and it was just amazing to see her stepping on her own. That was the moment that we knew that everything was going to be okay and we won't have to push her around in a wheelchair. I didn't want her to feel like she was different or is at a disadvantage," she added.

Tired of scrolling through Cocomelon's channel on YouTube, Jhanelle then used her toes to reach for a pencil crayon and began colouring in a circle.

"She attends nursery and she wants to be independent. She doesn't want anyone to do anything for her. For example, she doesn't want you to scroll the phone for anything. She will take the phone and hold it with her feet and use her finger and scroll for herself," said Josephs.

"She has her own colouring book and uses her toes to hold the pencil or crayon and colour, and sometimes when the foot is tired, she puts the pencil in her mouth and move her head to colour. Jhanelle is a very smart baby. I am going to get her enrolled in school as I realise that she is all about the books, so I am going to get her in school before she is three years old," Josephs said.