Double Amputee Teen Sets Sights On Rio Paralympics - Body Bizarre Episode 8 Teaser.
A TEENAGER with a rare spinal condition which led to both her lower legs being amputated is training for the Paralympics. Eighteen-year-old Jessica Rogers was born with sacral agenesis, which impaired the growth of her lower spine and left her legs underdeveloped. But the inspirational teen, from Springfield, Virginia, has made a name for herself in disability sports and is hoping to make the USA team for wheelchair track in the 2016 Rio Paralympics. She said: “A good part of my spine is missing and because of that everything below where my spine stopped growing was not fully developed, so my legs were very small.” Jessica was born in Brazil, where she spent the first 14 months of her life in a residential care facility. She was then flown to the US for medical treatment, where she was looked after by Phyllis Rogers, who later officially adopted her. Jessica's story appears in a new series of Body Bizarre, Thursday September 24, 9pm on TLC.
