Armless school boy plays the trumpet with his foot
This inspirational boy is hitting all the right notes. Little Jahmir Wallace’s entire life has been an exercise in adversity after he was born without arms — but that hasn’t stopped the well-adjusted adolescent from flooring faculty and his fellow students with his resiliency. Jahmir’s latest awe-inspiring effort began in September when he took up […]
This inspirational boy is hitting all the right notes.
Little Jahmir Wallace’s entire life has been an exercise in adversity after he was born without arms — but that hasn’t stopped the well-adjusted adolescent from flooring faculty and his fellow students with his resiliency.
Jahmir’s latest awe-inspiring effort began in September when he took up the trumpet for his fifth grade music class.
“I like performing because it’s a place where I can show people my skills,” Jahmir, 10, of Phillipsburg, N.J., told the Daily News this week. “I can show people I can do this and no one could stop me.”
The fifth grader at Green Street Elementary hoists his right leg onto the finger buttons and uses his left foot to steady the instrument. Jahmir manipulates his toes with incredible dexterity to play tunes such as “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” and “Jingle Bells.”
"My feet are my hands and my toes are my fingers,” Jahmir said matter-of-factly. “I can do most of the things that my friends can do.”
The tight-knit New Jersey town rallied behind the amazing little boy. Local shop Dave Phillips Music & Sound cobbled together a unique stand from a drum set, a sheet music holder and other spare parts to help Jahmir steady the instrument.
“He plays just as well as anybody else — sometimes even better,” says his music teacher Desiree Kratzer, who notes that he receives no special treatment during classes. “Jahmir’s whole attitude about life and trying things is infectious — he makes you smile.”
Everyone was surprised by Jahmir’s astounding, jaw-dropping feat — except for his mother, Dionne Wallace, who has watched her little boy defy doctors and doubters his entire life.
"I never give up on nothing. If I want to do something, I will always try.
“He always showed me the way,” Wallace, 35 said. “He’s always game for a new experience.”
Wallace was told that Jahmir most likely wouldn’t be able to crawl as a baby. Jahmir “scooted” along the floor propelling himself with his little legs until he was able to walk.
Wallace feared that she would need to dress, feed and tend to her son’s every need. Jahmir is incredibly self-sufficient, learning to use silverware with his toes, and can dress himself entirely.
School Principal Raffaele LaForgia has been an invaluable safety net for the mom, who commutes four hours each day for her vendor manager job at MetLife.
“I’m blessed that I can hand him over … and know that he’s going to be okay,” she said.
There was never a medical explanation about why the boy’s arms failed to develop. Wallace was given the startling news just three days before he was born.
His fellow elementary school students have been accepting of his disability. The adults, on the other hand, have a harder time peeling their eyeballs off of the boy, Wallace said.
Once, a man in a supermarket parking lot asked the boy “Where are your arms?” under the assumption that Jahmir had them tucked into his shirt.
The quick-witted kid responded by asking the man where his manners were.
Culled from nydailynews.com