The human spirit burns brightly in people even when faced with what may seem to be insurmountable odds.
One of the members of AMFPA is Antje Kratz a victim of thalidomide, a drug prescribed to combat morning sickness in pregnant women during the 50's and 60's. Inadequate testing failed to alert people to the hazards of this drug and 12,000 children in 46 countries were born with congenital malformations before it was banned for use during pregnancy.
From the Wikipedia article on Thalidomide -
Famous children of thalidomide
* Brett Nielsen is a musician. His career in sound began over 25 years ago in commercial radio and television. He lives in Mullumbimbi, Australia with his wife and 3 children. Brett was the first Australian thalidomide child.
* Terry Wiles' life was documented in the book "On Giant's Shoulders: The Story of Terry Wiles" (ISBN 0723001464) by Marjorie Wallace, as well as in a movie by the same name adapted from the book.
* Tony Melendez is a guitarist who was born without arms. He plays only with his feet.
* Thomas Quasthoff is an internationally acclaimed bass-baritone who describes himself : "1.34 meters tall, short arms, seven fingers - four right, three left - large, relatively well formed head, brown eyes, distinctive lips; profession: singer."
* Prof. Theresia Degener was born without arms. She is a prominent human rights lawyer with a special interest in the rights of the disabled.
* Antje Kratz is an artist and a member of the Association of Mouth and Foot Painting Artists of the World.
Lots of things to learn, so little time - from a positive-thinking point of view the lesson of making the best of what gifts we have, from a skeptics point of view the utter insanity of putting unquestioning trust in science and scientists.
