A Filipina with no arms made history as the first armless person to be a certified pilot. A lot of people are calling her a real-life Superwoman for the feat– and she is, indeed!
Due to a rare birth defect, Filipino American Jessica Cox was born without arms. Most of her life she was bullied by her peers, being called names. She heard a lot of hurtful remarks from the other kids, leading her to isolate herself and simply dream that she was a superhero.
In her dreams, she was a Superwoman who would take people up to the sky to see the clouds, one at a time.
Though her American father and late Filipina mother tried their best to make her life better, even getter her prosthetic arms when she was 3 years old, she didn’t like the extensions. By eighth grade, she took them off permanently.
Instead of giving up, she learned to adapt with not having arms, teaching her legs and feet to compensate for her lack of arms and hands.
Growing up an angry kid due to her isolation, her parents enrolled her in martial arts lessons to help her gain confidence in herself. She’s now a double black belt in Taekwondo, earning her the Guinness World Record for being the first armless person to get a black belt from the American Taekwondo Association.
Amazingly, she went on to live her dreams despite the lack of arms. Setting her eyes on her dream of flying, Jessica became a pilot and would earn her second Guinness World Record as the first armless person to become a certified pilot in aviation history!
Aside from those impressive achievements, this inspiring woman is also an excellent swimmer, surfer, diver, skier, gymnast, and dancer.
The 36-year old ‘superhero’ has also become a motivational speaker, going around the world to inspire many people, especially those with disabilities as she shares her amazing life story and how she was able to overcome her challenges.
Watch her impressive story here:
— Joy Adalia, The Summit Express
Due to a rare birth defect, Filipino American Jessica Cox was born without arms. Most of her life she was bullied by her peers, being called names. She heard a lot of hurtful remarks from the other kids, leading her to isolate herself and simply dream that she was a superhero.
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| Photo credit: Jessica Cox / NextShark |
In her dreams, she was a Superwoman who would take people up to the sky to see the clouds, one at a time.
Though her American father and late Filipina mother tried their best to make her life better, even getter her prosthetic arms when she was 3 years old, she didn’t like the extensions. By eighth grade, she took them off permanently.
 |
| Photo credit: Jessica Cox / NextShark |
Instead of giving up, she learned to adapt with not having arms, teaching her legs and feet to compensate for her lack of arms and hands.
Growing up an angry kid due to her isolation, her parents enrolled her in martial arts lessons to help her gain confidence in herself. She’s now a double black belt in Taekwondo, earning her the Guinness World Record for being the first armless person to get a black belt from the American Taekwondo Association.
Amazingly, she went on to live her dreams despite the lack of arms. Setting her eyes on her dream of flying, Jessica became a pilot and would earn her second Guinness World Record as the first armless person to become a certified pilot in aviation history!
Aside from those impressive achievements, this inspiring woman is also an excellent swimmer, surfer, diver, skier, gymnast, and dancer.
The 36-year old ‘superhero’ has also become a motivational speaker, going around the world to inspire many people, especially those with disabilities as she shares her amazing life story and how she was able to overcome her challenges.
Watch her impressive story here:
— Joy Adalia, The Summit Express
