Born With No Limbs: I Didn't Want To Be Their Poster Child! Briel Adams-Wheatley

Where this was said

How Briel Got Into Dancing

At 34:25 · chapter starts 32:34

Two of the episode's most vivid setpieces arrive here in quick succession. First: Briel's father, arriving at the pool one day, simply threw her in. She sank. He jumped in. And then, over two and a half years of summer sessions, they worked through floating, rolling underwater, and propelling herself forward in a dolphin motion. Paul admits he doesn't know how to feel about that method as a parent, even while acknowledging the results — Briel is, by his wife's assessment after watching a video, a better swimmer than he is. Second: a 7th-grade talent show flyer sparks an idea. Briel choreographs something to 'Apologize' in her head, shows it to her mother, and receives the most useful brutal honesty of her life: 'That was the worst thing I've ever seen.' Her mother, a trained dancer, refuses to let her be applauded just for being disabled. They rebuild the dance from scratch. At the performance, her mother sits at the very front of the crowd, mouthing the moves, making sure Briel doesn't miss a step. When it's over, she gets a standing ovation — and seeing her mother's face makes it worth everything. ^{[1] — Briel Adams-Wheatley "You don't want people to applaud you just because you're handicapped. You want them to stand up and applaud you because you actually put in…" 34:25 Play [2] — Briel Adams-Wheatley "Briel's adoptive mother required her to go up and down the stairs 20 times in 20 minutes every morning before school and breakfast. When sh…" 10:20 Play}