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The Story of Black model and Amputee Learning to Love Her Body
Marsha Elle is a Haitian lady who lives in Miami. She was born with one leg and learned to love and appreciate her body just the way it is.
In an interview the lady had with People, she revealed that her mother would always put pants under her dresses. Marsha pointed out that it was not because she was ashamed but to shelter her daughter from the society they lived in as they consider disable people as “shunned.”
For that reason, Marsha would also put on big jackets and similar clothing no matter how hot it was – she intended to hide her prosthetic. Her life changed at the age of 16 when she attended her first amputee camp.
LOVING HER BODY
In there, they taught her to embrace her body, something that boosted her self-confidence in such a way that, nowadays, Marsha is a singer, songwriter, model, and motivational speaker.
From that point on, her life started getting better each passing day. From wearing shorts for her debut albums to walking on a runway as a model in a campaign that promoted body positivity, Marsha’s limit seems to be the sky.
When she posted pictures on Instagram wearing a bathing suit, a couple of people wrote “some hurtful comments, but the positive feedback definitely is well worth it,” revealed Marsha.
EMBRACING HERSELF
The model said, “I was terrified. I’m a congenital amputee, so I have this huge abductor roll, it looks odd. It’s not even like a normal amputation. I have a deformity. My doctor had said if I wanted to, I could have surgery and get [the abductor roll] taken off.”
However, Marsha has learned to embrace it by doing the photoshoots. According to her, the only way to fight fear is by facing it because “it’s the only way you’ll ever either overcome it or know if it’s really a fear.”
Now, she goes to hospitals to do motivational speaking work with those who deal with any disability, especially young people, as they relate to her.
AURORA CAIRO’S STORY
Marsha is not the only amputee who became a viral sensation, though. Aurora Cairo’s right foot was removed due to a birth defect called fibular hemimelia. Thankfully, she got a prosthetic leg, and her photos have captivated the Internet.
The “courageous and ambitious” girl, as her mother describes her, attracted a lot of attention in 2016 when a photo of her flashing her beautiful smile while wearing a tutu and a ballerina outfit went viral on Facebook.
