Meet the mom who uses her feet to paint, do her nails and take care for her toddler daughter

By Lucy Moses via SWNS

Doctors couldn't don't know why Sarah Talbi, 38, was born without any upper limbs.

As a child Talbi learned to eat, dress herself and brush her hair using her feet.

As she got older, she developed more skills like chopping vegetables and doing her make-up - all with her toes.

“I can do anything with my feet as long as I don’t have shoes on," said Talbi. “I put my make-up on, dress, cook, shower look after Lilia, I can do everything I want.”

As a child, Talbi didn’t see herself as any different.

“How a baby takes everything with their hands and makes a mess, I did the same with my feet so my brain was connecting to my feet," she said. “I could do everything a toddler the same age could do, just with my feet. As I got older I could eat, but I struggled to write. Those things came later."

When Sarah was a teenager she studied English and Spanish translation at Institut supérieur de traducteurs et interprètes (ISTI), in Brussels without extra support.

“I was able to do it like anyone else," she said.

"When I did Erasmus I had to move but I moved in with friends and we had an apartment together. I just had an experience like anyone would have done and I did that without struggling.”

In September 2018, Sarah had a baby, Lilia.

“It is a huge achievement becoming a mom," Talbi said.

“It’s my best achievement. I think it’s hard for any woman to become a mom because it’s such a big change, plus having a disability you are dealing with two things, but my disability had to adapt to having a baby."

Talbi said those changes came easily with a little practice.

"Now that I have two years of experience and I can do everything with my daughter," Talbi said.

"She holds me by my sleeve when we walk along the street. It’s unbelievable, she’s holding it like a hand. It’s funny because sometimes she’ll want to run off and touch something in the street and she asks and tugs my sleeve. She doesn’t know I can’t hold her back yet which is sweet.”

Talbi has even found that she can paint using her feet, and is looking forward to putting on more exhibitions to showcase her work.

She also showcases her work on her YouTube channel.

“My main inspiration is nature, I love painting landscapes, Talbi said.

"I love nature and traveling and I really miss it."

Talbi said she hasn’t met any other woman who has the same disability as her.

"I have adapted entirely myself and I can do everything I want," she said. “I don’t let it hold me back.”