VIRAL TikTok star, Ren, was born without elbows or hands - but that hasn't held her back at all. The 28-year-old spent her childhood developing her own ways of performing everyday tasks in order to be independent. She affectionately refers to her arms as "nubs" and told truly: "Most things I can do - just in my own way, a little more difficult than others." The resilience Ren has built up through her ability to adapt was critical as Ren entered adult life - the one area of her life she found particularly difficult to navigate was dating: "I had boy[friends] that would refuse to hold my hand because they didn't want to be embarrassed." But just as she was giving up, Ren matched with current boyfriend Timmy on a dating app and his open-minded approach meant the two fell for each other in no time. As Timmy told truly: "I like to just go into things with an open mind and it's been great!" Timmy now supports Ren through everything, including helping her record TikToks to raise awareness for her condition - mostly lighthearted videos "making fun" of her condition. Whilst Ren has had to deal with negative, "icky" comments and questions in the comments section - as well as staring in public - this no longer phases her at all and she is more determined than ever to shift opinions about what it means to live with a disability. Her hope is that people take away from her story that "people with disabilities are more capable than they expect - we find our ways eventually, it takes time but we find our ways!"
Follow Ren:
https://www.tiktok.com/@2fingered_t_rex
https://www.instagram.com/nubbeez_
Videographer: Ed Koziarski
Producers: Kim Nguyen, Tom Buckman & Mel Jefcoate
Editor: Emma Mitchell
