Born without hands, that was never an obstacle for Jessica, she even wished to become a pilot.
Jessica Cox was born in 1982 in Arizona, USA. Less fortunate than other children because right from birth, Jessica has lost both her arms.
However, that did not stop her from becoming the only female pilot in her hometown, a very special female pilot.
Because of a birth defect, from a young age Jessica had to learn to use her feet to do the work of her hands. Sometimes she is also quite sad, wondering:
“Why do both my parents, my siblings have hands, but I don’t?”
Despite being fitted with prosthetic arms and making them a little easier to operate, Jessica had to spend countless hours getting used to them. She shared that it took away a part of her childhood when she didn’t spend time with her friends, and actually she prefers to do things with her feet and is used to it.
So, after 11 years of using prosthetics, Jessica decided she didn’t need them anymore, living entirely on her feet. It was that extraordinary energy that created many milestones for Jessica’s later life.
From a young age, due to lack of hands, Jessica could only sit on the swing and raise her head to look at the sky. Gradually she imagined that she could fly up there, overcome anything. That sparked Jessica’s dream of becoming a pilot, she said:
“I want to be a pilot, I’m free to fly in the sky and free to do whatever I want.”
To train for a strong leg, Jessica practiced Taekwondo since the age of 10 and won a black belt at the age of 14. Thanks to this sport, she met her husband, Patrick, a Taekwondo instructor. Her husband became a strong spiritual support for Jessica later.
The opportunity to experience the feeling of being a pilot came to Jessica when she joined a non-profit organization and had the opportunity to fly a real plane. During the journey on the small, single-engine plane, she felt like no words could describe her feelings.
“In the air, my soul is liberated, which makes me even more determined to become a real pilot.” Jessica said.
At first, her journey was quite difficult when not many people wanted to guide a “pilot without hands”. They are apprehensive about the safety standards and complexities of flying an airplane, for someone who can even fly with… feet.
However, very fortunately, Jessica found a teacher who liked her and understood her desire.
After 3 years of training, in 2008, Jessica was granted a pilot certificate and made her first flight.
At the same time, she is also recognized as the first woman in the world to fly an airplane on foot.
Thanks to that achievement, Jessica became a speaker, she traveled all over the world to fight and lift the spirits of people with disabilities like her, helping them believe in themselves.
At the same time, Jessica also became the representative of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which introduced the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), which gives people with disabilities the right and responsibility for all social benefits. such as education, health care, etc. Jessica also became a Goodwill Ambassador for Humanities and Inclusion, having great influence in Europe, Africa, etc.
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