GABE ADAMS: Do I ever wish that I have limbs? Of course. But I know that I don’t have arms and legs
for a reason so I am just going to live my life as best as I can.
GABE ADAMS: I've definitely had to push myself mentally to be able to get to where I am today.
There’s always people doubting me.
GABE ADAMS: And I am just trying to live my life as independent as possible.
I think some of my biggest proudest moments in my life would be learning how to walk.
GABE ADAMS: Learning how to get myself dressed.
GABE ADAMS: Going up and down the stairs.
GABE ADAMS: Getting into my wheelchair.
GABE ADAMS: Taking my own notes in school.
GABE ADAMS: Graduating.
GABE ADAMS: I always put it on a timer mode and then I just hold it.
GABE ADAMS: Hanhart syndrome is a birth defect. It affects less than one in one million people here in
the United States. Some of the common signs are a small or undeveloped jaw, missing fingers or toes or
no arms and no legs. And clearly that is my circumstance right now, I was born without any limbs.
It also affects the short-term memory loss and sometimes hearing. Ever since I was like 15 years old,
I told myself that I wanted my goal to be as independent as possible. So I was going to do whatever it took to
become to where I am today.
GABE ADAMS: I have nine brothers and four sisters and I am the only adopted. People are always telling me,
‘You can’t do this.’ And then I turn around and show them that I can and every that time I am doing them, I am just
super grateful that I have my family supporting me and not babying me into doing everything for me.
GABE ADAMS: And there are so many times when I was younger that I didn’t understand why they wouldn't just
do it for me. Like, I have no arms and legs please just do it for me, I don’t want to do it, and they would just say,
‘No, you can do it. You will figure out a way.’ And my mom says that to me all the time now.
RON ADAMS: The biggest concern as a parent obviously was how do we raise a son with no arms and legs to be
independent. Worked hard with Gabe to help him overcome different challenges and handicaps and to
help him be independent.
RON ADAMS: That of course resulted in a lot of struggles, a lot of tears on both sides.
GABE ADAMS: And I hated my parents for making me go through all that hard work but now I look at them and I
am so grateful that they pushed me and encouraged me to be independent and be the person
that they knew that I could be.
GABE ADAMS: People comment and stare daily like, non-stop everywhere I go. Bullying definitely is still an issue
but it’s something that I get to choose on how it affects me and a lot of times I don’t let it affect me.
LANDON ADAMS: There was times when he would come home and he was just like completely, you know,
miserable after that day because of how much he got picked on. He is super big and tough, you know, inside so
he is not going to tell me who is doing it or who is saying what.
GABE ADAMS: A lot of times I would cry about it and in my younger years, it was hard trying to find real friends
because you never know if they were just being my friends because they felt bad for me or if they just
wanted attention from being my friend. When I finally made friends in high school, I was learning that they
didn’t care that I didn’t have arms and legs, they saw me as a person.
GABE ADAMS: I first started dancing when I was in the seventh grade. I told myself that I wanted to try out for
the talent show. I didn’t tell anybody that I was trying out just because I wanted it to be a surprise. So I tried out
and I made the audition and I went home and I told my family, and they were, ‘What did you do?’ And I was like,
‘No, really I danced.’
GABE ADAMS: I performed that dance in front of my entire junior high school and I got a standing ovation.
GABE ADAMS: That was just a huge eye opening moment that this was something that I could do,
that I wanted to do and that if I push myself I could definitely do it. And now I am doing benefit concerts and
helping raise money for people with sicknesses.
GABE ADAMS: I’ve been doing speaking for almost four years now. It's pretty crazy with all the places that I’ve
been able to go to and meet so many amazing people and hear their stories and hear how I’ve been able
to help them.
GABE ADAMS: One of the common questions that I get would be - Is your life hard? Do you wish you had limbs?
My response would be - No, my life isn’t hard. Life is only hard when you make it hard. If I am going to make it hard,
then that’s on me.
GABE ADAMS: I am just like everybody else. I am bound to have my down days and when it does happen, there is
always a voice in my head saying give up and I have to fight that voice all the time.
GABE ADAMS: It’s not about me, it is about living for other people.
GABE ADAMS: I have been able to accomplish so much and I think it’s funny when people say,
‘Do you wish you ever have prosthetics?’ And my answer is always, ‘No.’ Because I have already come so far in my
independence without them. I like my body the way it is and I am proud of what it’s capable of doing.