Special – And Proud Of It

Felicity is embracing life, thanks to the love of her foster mom

- Khatija Nxedlana

SHE loves her Minnie Mouse chair and pretty pink bedroom, wearing dresses with flowers on them, and putting cute clips and bows in her hair. In other words, she’s just like any five-year-old girl.

“What did Mommy teach you?” Karen Bruyere asks as little Felicity* hoists herself into her Minnie Mouse seat and, using her head for traction, manoeuvres herself onto her bed.

“God made me like this, so I’m special,” the little girl replies.

And Felicity is indeed a special child. She first touched hearts around the country when DRUM’s sister publication YOU reported on the story of the baby born without legs and with only stumps for arms in December 2013.

Abandoned when she was barely a week old, Felicity found sanctuary at Tshwane Haven in Pretoria, a home run by big-hearted Karen, who for years has worked with doctors and specialists who send ailing premature babies to her.