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A mother with a disability so rare that she “feels like a different species” has finally achieved her lifelong goal: finding other people who look just like her.
Ella Glendining was born with short thigh bones and no hip joints. Her disability is so unusual that she cannot find any statistics on its prevalence.
The mother spent her life hoping to find people with a similar condition and has chronicled her search in a new documentary on CBC.
“There's a piece of the puzzle missing in my life, which is that I've never seen another creature like me,” Glendining said. 'I really feel like a different species.'
But now the writer and director has shared her joy after finally meeting people with similar conditions.
Ella Glendining was born with leg deformities so rare she had never met anyone who looked like her
The writer and filmmaker started looking for people with disabilities similar to hers and came across a Facebook group for people with proximal femoral focal deficiency, a complex birth defect that results in deformities of the femur.
“I feel a little less alone in the world, which is really cool, right?” she said in a trailer for her documentary “Is Anybody Out There?”
The British-born filmmaker explained how she achieved her goal after stumbling across a Facebook group for people with similar disabilities.
She then flew to the US, where she met other adults with proximal femoral focal deficiency, a complex birth defect that results in deformity of the femur.
She also met with Florida-based limb lengthening expert Dr. Dror Paley, for a consultation.
“I want to know what type I am because then I have a better chance of finding someone who looks exactly like me,” she added.
Glendining explained that she decided to make the film as “a love letter to the disability community and its allies.”
Shot over a period of four years, the documentary charts her quest to find someone like her, but also her journey to motherhood when Glendining discovered she was pregnant during filming at the age of 26.
'Isn't there just someone who talks about disabilities and being different? is about becoming a mother. My own unexpected pregnancy and the birth of my son were documented from the day I discovered I was pregnant,” she said CBC.
British-born Glendining (right) flew to the US to meet some group members and said she finally feels like she's 'not so alone in the world'
The mother-of-one has turned her experience of searching for people who look like her into an award-winning documentary called 'Is Anybody Out There?'
“Although these are two completely different stories on the surface, they are inherently intertwined, and my body – this extraordinary body that grew and gave birth to my beloved son – is the bridge between them.”
The campaigner said she hopes her film will 'humanize people with disabilities'.
“I hope that the non-disabled audience will question the way they think about and interact with people with disabilities, and therefore be less ableist,” she added.
'And I want the documentary to be a beacon of light for people with disabilities who are angry and sad.
'But this film is not just for the disabled. It's for anyone who has ever felt 'different.'
Glendining's documentary has received critical acclaim from the disability community and beyond, scooping the British Film Institute & Chanel Filmmaker Awards.