Half body, full responsibilities

Rosemarie Siggins looks after her young son, her schizophrenic father with Alzheimer’s and her mentally disabled brother. She also has a passion for fast cars, and in her spare time fixes up a Mustang ready for the racetrack. Sounds like a normal routine, only thing is she only has half a body. She was born with a rare genetic disorder known as Sacral Agenesis that means she is missing her sacrum and 4 lower vertebrae.

Her parents have to make a tough decision to have her deformed legs amputated when she was just two years old so that she would not rely on a wheelchair, to give her the freedom to walk on her hands, or use a skateboard.

During her school day, the administrators at the local school forced Rose to wear artificial legs, they wanted her to look like everybody else. When she was in eighth grade she rebelled and refused to wear her prosthetic limbs, turning up for school on her skateboard. She wanted to be normal, and her normal is Rose who walks on her hands and has no legs. After meeting with her parents who were being very supportive, and realising that Rose was very stubborn, the school relented and allowed her to return, without her prosthetics.

Rose's great passion in life is cars. All things automotive, cars, trucks and V-8 engines have been a big part of her life since she started playing with her father's toolbox at the age of 3. When she was sixteen, her parents bought her a car. A used car which Rose and her father adapted with hand controls so that Rose was able to drive herself around. She is rebuilding a 1968 Mustang which she plans to race.

In 1997 Rose met Dave Siggins who worked in an auto-parts store, they flirted over the phone and their relationship quickly blossomed, but it was going to put Rose's life in danger. When they decided to get married, Dave joked with her that she didn't have to worry about getting cold feet. Rose and Dave were married in 1999, it was her dream come true. It was a traditional white wedding and Dave, still joking, pointed out that the cake was bigger than she was.

Although Rose has gone on to live a normal life; her biggest challenge now is that she's pregnant. It's very risky for someone with this disorder. No-one else with Sacral Agenesis has ever given birth. Finally without any incident, she gave birth to a miracle baby. After the death of her mother Rose has become the main caregiver for all the family. She also has to cope with her brother’s violent outbursts, and her father’s mental deterioration while attending to the needs of her son. She guides them, feeds them and supports them – and still manages gets the Mustang ready for the racetrack.

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