Vietnamese Woman Born Without Arms Builds Independent Life with Support of Adoptive Mother

Thirty-two years ago, Susan Buchholz arrived at an airport in the U.S. to welcome the seven-month-old Vietnamese baby she had adopted. An official placed the infant in her arms, handed over a bottle of milk and offered one piece of urgent advice: take the child straight to a doctor. The baby, Nguyen Le Anh, had been born without arms and was suffering from a severe ear infection and sinusitis. Susan later gave her the English name Anna. "It felt as though Anna was meant to be part of my life," recalls Susan, 74, a retired physical therapist in Washington state. Susan's dream of adoption began in childhood after reading "The Family Nobody Wanted", a memoir about a couple who adopted children from the foster care system. Inspired by the story, she became a physical therapist, remained single and eventually adopted five children, all with disabilities. In 1994, the family received a catalogue introducing children around the world who were waiting for adoptive families. Susan asked her children to place paper clips on the photo of the child they wanted most. "Whoever gets the most paper clips will be the one we adopt," she told them. The boy they chose had already been matched with another family. Knowing Susan's professional background, an adoption agency worker asked whether she would consider adopting a baby girl from Vietnam who had been born without arms. "Of course," Susan replied. At the time, Anna was living at the Tu Liem Malnourished and Orphaned Children Centre in Hanoi. Susan spent five months completing the adoption process, which required around 80 documents. "I was so happy because I could finally hold her in my arms," she said. Soon after arriving in the U.S., Anna was taken to a pediatrician. Despite several health problems, she rarely cried, instead quietly observing her unfamiliar surroundings and the siblings waiting to welcome her home. Knowing her daughter would face lifelong challenges, Susan made independence the cornerstone of her upbringing. Whenever Anna asked for help putting on a coat or carrying a backpack, her mother encouraged her to do it herself. "You can do it. Try first," Susan would say. "Even the smallest tasks were things I had to figure out on my own," Anna recalled. Over time, Anna learned to use her feet for almost everything. Susan also arranged occupational therapy to help her master skills that could not simply be learned through practice. As a child, Anna sometimes viewed her mother's strictness as unfair. Only later did she realize it had prepared her to live independently. Today, she carefully plans ahead before leaving home, choosing bags she can manage with her feet, keeping essential items within easy reach and identifying buildings that may not be accessible. Still, independence did not shield her from self-doubt. At the age of eight, Anna attended a summer camp wearing long sleeves to hide her disability. When another child asked if she had broken her arms, she simply nodded. Throughout the camp, she let others help her instead of using her feet. "I wished I could be someone else," she said. Seeing her daughter's struggle, Susan searched for support groups until she discovered the International Child Amputee Network, where Anna met adults living successfully without arms. "That changed my life," Anna said. Her mentor drove a car, built a successful career, got married and lived independently despite having no arms. Watching her confidently walk down the aisle convinced Anna that she could build a similar future. At 16, Anna surprised her mother by announcing she wanted to compete in the Miss Clark County Washington pageant, a preliminary competition in the Miss America system. "That was when I knew she had truly embraced who she was," Susan recalled. Although Anna grew up in the U.S., Susan made a point of preserving her daughter's Vietnamese roots. She bought her an ao dai, introduced her to books about Vietnam and brought her to a Vietnamese Catholic church. When Anna was seven, the family returned to Vietnam so Susan could adopt another little girl. During the trip, Anna also visited the orphanage where she had once lived. Raising six children with disabilities as a single mother was often exhausting, Susan admits. Even with adoption assistance, her salary as a physical therapist could not cover all of the family's expenses. "I always reminded my children that if we have food, a roof over our heads and clothes to wear, we're already fortunate," she said. "Many people don't even have one of those." She believes that lesson taught her children gratitude, while support from family, friends and her faith helped her through the most difficult years. Susan later lost three of her adopted children to health complications, the greatest heartbreak of her life. But seeing her surviving children build fulfilling lives has brought her comfort. Anna graduated with a psychology degree from the University of Washington and later completed part of a master's program overseas before joining the accounting department of a U.S. technology company. Outside work, she volunteers at camps for children with limb differences and runs the social media channel "AnnaByTheFoot", where she shares how she manages daily life using only her feet in hopes of inspiring others. "She's now a completely independent adult, and I couldn't be prouder," Susan said. If she ever meets her birth mother, Anna says she would ask only one question: why she was left behind. Then she would simply thank her. "Because of that decision, I met Susan and have the life I have today."