This month’s issue of Amplitude features two remarkable quadruple amputees: gonzo athlete Kyle Maynard and high-school basketball coach Rayna DuBose. As it turns out, there’s another athletic quad-amputee across the Atlantic: British teenager Isabelle Weall. Get acquainted here, then head over to YouTube and check out her channel.
Other amputees featured in our YouTube series:
Neo KirchBaby * Footless Jo * Crew9t * Stump Kitchen * AmputeeOT * My Single-Handed Pursuit
Isabelle Weall
Location: Derby, UK
URL: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCotscVLRZVVVSKLWRws8xRw
Subscribers: 134,600
Total views: 10.9 million
About: Weall lost all four limbs when she was stricken with meningitis at age 7. She discovered trampolining a few years later during her school gym class and went on to win two British national competitions in the sport. She’s also garnered a prestigious Pride of Sport Award and delivered a TEDx Talk—all before her 17th birthday. But to a lot of her YouTube and Instagram fans, Weall’s greatest talent is her makeup artistry.
In her own words: “People think that when you get a disability that the physical effects are the only effects. Not true. A lot of people don’t realize that having a disability is harder than just—like in my case, just limbs amputated. There’s a lot more to it and a lot more things that challenge you. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate my disability. But it’s not the greatest situation. So for someone to mention that any time someone says anything to me, it’s frustrating and annoying. The word ‘disability’ annoys me so much. The ‘dis’ makes it sound like there’s something wrong with you and that you’re not normal. And this isn’t right. That word isn’t right. Because at the end of the day, I’m pretty much able to do everything my friends can do, I just do it in a different way. I think everyone struggles in life, disabled and able-bodied. Things aren’t always easy, but I find ways to make them challenging instead of difficult. Because everyone can go in for a challenge. It’s just a bump in the road.”
Popular videos: “Awkward Situations as a Quadruple Amputee“; “Why I Don’t Wear Prosthetic Arms“; “My Huge Makeup Collection“; “How I’m Going to Drive as a Quadruple Amputee“