SEATTLE — A Washington woman is finding viral fame by showcasing her life without arms.
“Anna by the Foot” spoke to KIRO 7 News about her online success and her goal to spread her message beyond social media.
Going out to eat, doing your chores or cooking a meal are tasks most people do without thinking about. When Anna does them, it’s content.
“It can be shocking at first, but I think it is kind of just interesting to people,” she said.
Anna was born without arms. In the spring, she started posting videos about her day-to-day life on social media, and they took off.
“I think I’m at a combined 130,000 followers across all my platforms and millions of views,” Anna said.
She does all kinds of things with her feet, including editing her videos. Her most popular posts are the ones where she visits restaurants and handles chopsticks with her toes.
“When it comes to precision and control, I have just as much as people with their hands,” she said.
Anna’s figured out how to do most things with her feet. When she cooks, for example, she sits atop a high stool so she can easily access the stove and counter with her legs. She is in the process of learning how to do different hairstyles, which can be difficult because of the angle involved.
Some tasks though, are much more challenging.
“The number one thing that is a huge bummer that I can’t do very easily is eating and walking,” she said.
She’s found workarounds for most tasks, though. She credits her success in large part to her mother, who raised Anna and five other adopted children with disabilities and fostered dozens more.
“She’s the most selfless person I know,” Anna said.
Growing up, she used to get frustrated when her mother insisted she do things on her own instead of helping her. Now, she gets it.
“I’m eternally grateful to her for not just adopting me, but giving me independence,” Anna said.
Anna’s social media journey is just getting started, and she hopes to soon add travel content into the mix.
She said the most important part of what she is doing is starting conversations.
“The number one thing that people can do is just be okay talking about it,” she said. “Because when you shove disability in a societal corner and don’t talk about, I think that’s really harmful.”
Every surprised viewer or confused commenter is someone who came away with a little more knowledge about how other people live.
“I just hope they see disabled people as people. That’s really what I want in life,” she said. “Obviously, I want to entertain them too and show them something cool, but I also want them to get to know me. I hope it moves the needle for how society views disability in general.”
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