Yamilka's Story of Hope She doesn’t have any arms and lacks one leg, but 9-year-old Yamilka smiles in a way which shows the happiness all human beings should feel just for being alive. Anyone who meets her is captivated, including the First Lady of Puerto Rico, Luisa G?nadara, who saw Yamilka in her ballerina attire, demonstrating her skills. Yamilka came to the world with a condition called phocomelia (lack of limbs, in her case both arms). In addition, she had a malformation of the hips and a shortening of the left leg, which was amputated two years ago in order to get a prosthesis that enables her to walk. Yamilka has attended Easter Seals-Puerto Rico since she was a newborn. In 2005 she was selected to dance in the “Nutcracker” with the ‘Ballet Teatro’ at the Francisco Arriv? theater. |