Doug Forbis was born with a very rare health condition called sacral agenesis. It's when a the spine doesn't develop properly in the womb and people are born mostly without legs. But even sacral agenesis couldn't stop Doug Forbis from being happy. This 24-year-old guy has a girlfriend, love wheelchair sports and wants to be a teacher for children with special needs.
Born with a rare condition called sacral agenesis, Doug Forbis had his legs removed at the age of 2. He's now 24 and studying to teach physical education to kids with special needs.
"When I was growing up, if you had any sort of difference in a PE class, there wasn't a lot you could do," Forbis told AOL News. "You could be a score keeper or watch, but it wasn't the most productive use of your time."
Rather than spending his youth as an observer, he joined swimming and basketball leagues for disabled kids.
"It was a big deal to meet others going through the same issues. It gave me a safe zone each week going to practice," he said.
Now he hopes to offer that safe zone for those in need at a local self-contained school.
"It's so rare for kids with special needs to have a teacher with special needs - that almost never happens," he said. "I think it would help a lot for these special need kids to say, 'Look, Mr. Forbis is a teacher, I can do that, too. He lives by himself, gets around town, goes shopping, I can do that, too.' A lot of kids don't know that's an option. They just depend on the system their whole lives."
Doug Forbis
