Life with Joanne: My little sister with a big heart

MANY people over the past few weeks have been asking me about life with my sister Joanne.

It is fair to say she has done far more and achieved way more than the average person.

However, on saying that and taking everything into account, my life experiences with Joanne have gone from sheer bliss to sheer struggle. While that might sound a bit dramatic, I’m glad to say the tough times have been few and far between.

I clearly remember the day Joanne came into this world. Myself and my other sister Gillian were picked up by our grandfather and he told us about Joanne’s arrival.

We were absolutely delighted and thrilled with the news, but within that same breath, Grandad told us she was born with no limbs. The silence in that car journey has stayed with me since. As I looked out the window and we travelled through the countryside, I couldn’t help wondering: “How can a person be born with no limbs?”

Gillian and I said nothing at all for the rest of the journey.

But once we got to know our little Joanne, we discovered a bright, bubbly baby who laughed and giggled like any other — the only difference was she was born without limbs.

She reminded me of a dolphin as she gilded up and down her cot waving her bottom in the air, trying to explore the world around her. The fuss we made over Joanne was, of course, our top priority.

I remember when Mam came up with the genius idea of putting the letters from the alphabet and numbers on the wall in front of her, so Joanne very quickly started reciting her ABCs and 123s. A simple idea borne out of a passion by a devoted mother and father, at all times trying to do the best for their little girl.

As the years passed and my brothers and sisters got older, my parents very gradually opened up about the hurt that was caused to them soon after Joanne was born.

One of the most serious incidents was one day when my mother came home from town upset. She had just been physically assaulted by a guy in a car who had parked in a wheelchair space.

Stories like that made a massive impression on me, and little did I know that 17 years later, I would go on to make a documentary about this wonderful girl and our family’s experiences. No Limbs No Limits is a story of hope, love and triumph over adversity. It is my way if showing the world what we, as individuals, can do — if we simply believe that we can.

The admiration that I have for my parents and how they coped is now far greater than anyone could imagine. Here were two young parents with four other children, living in a small cottage in the south of Ireland. On April 24, 1996, their lives and the lives of their children changed forever.

My favourite memories include when I first saw Joanne write her name; the first time I saw her drive her wheelchair, and the first time she lifted up her bottle to take a drink. I was always there filming and taking photos of Joanne, and as the years passed, the milestones became greater and her adventures more challenging.

Her ability to see a hurdle, and find a way around it, was astounding. It still is.

But as each of us grew older so, too, did the demands on my parents. And one thing that I’ve also come to understand is that the love my parents have for each other, and the love they have for Joanne, is greater and more powerful than any negativity she, or they, would ever experience. As Joanne would say herself: “Life is about living, nothing is impossible, because I’m possible.”

Joanne has enriched my life beyond imagination. She has given me the tools which have allowed me to find my own voice, and this in itself made me even more determined to make a documentary about her life.

I wanted to capture the quiet moments, the unexpected moments, and even the very private moments.

The world that Joanne inhabits is a world that is both boundless and limitless. She opens up doors that are otherwise locked.

She brings a little ray of sunshine to the dullest of days and she sparks an energy, a drive and a enthusiasm that allows you to look beyond your own limitations.

The Joanne I know and the Joanne I see on a day-to-day basis makes me do better and achieve more than I ever could have without her.

There are times when I felt down, lonely, ashamed, embarrassed or upset and out of the corner of my eye, I would see Joanne flicking her phone with her ‘hand’, sending messages using her upper and bottom lip, chin and nose. Suddenly all my cares and worries would disappear and I would see how lucky I am to have her in my life. Without her, things would be so different. And a lot less fun.

* No Limbs No Limits is on general release nationwide from tomorrow, Friday, for two weeks.