Armless Teen Learns How to Drive

May 30, 2003 -- — Driving lessons are a rite of passage for teenagers across the country. The first step on the road to independence. But for Jessica Parks, a remarkable young woman from North Branch, Mich., driving lessons are much more than that — they signify another great challenge she's eager to conquer.

Jessica was born without arms, but decided at a young age that she was not comfortable wearing prosthetics. So she has learned to do amazing things with her feet — from eating spaghetti to putting in contact lenses. She is no stranger to adversity but the question remained: How well would she drive?

After pulling her seatbelt across her with her foot and buckling in, she follows the directions of instructor Larry Klug and makes all of her last-minute adjustments with her feet, as they prepare to leave the parking lot. Klug, an instructor at Challenged Drivers Educators, talks her through a pre-drive checklist: "Put your blinker on; check your center mirror; check your left mirror."

Jessica is driving a mid-size car that wasn't modified at all for her purposes. After seeing her ability to steer and signal with her left foot and accelerate and brake with her right foot, Klug decided that she didn't need any adaptive devices.

So what's the verdict? It should come as no surprise to anyone that after spending hours driving with Jessica, Klug pronounces her a natural, saying she's going to be a great driver.

Ever Determined

The determination she showed in her early years set the tone for how she would approach life.

Her stepfather, Geoffrey Parmenter, says one of Jessica's most important early lessons was learning how to fall. "There were times when she'd be walking along, if she caught a crack in the sidewalk she would, you know, right smack on her face, and she received a few stitches for that. And so we worked with her, to not fall forward, but to turn," he said.

Jessica realized very quickly, and in many ways, that she was different. "We had neighbors that wouldn't allow their children to play with her. She was real upset over that," her mother, Yvonne, said.

Jessica said she doesn't worry too much about what people think of her anymore.

"When I was littler it was a big thing. I felt really uncomfortable in restaurants, eating with my feet, because there were a lot of stares. … I can understand that, but it made me feel really uncomfortable."

The extent to which Jessica has achieved the near impossible is evident even in the small things she does, such as putting on a pair of contact lenses. The motivation is twofold: to prove she can do it, and to fit in at school.

"Honestly, I didn't want to come to school with braces and glasses, and I went to my eye doctor and she basically told me that there would be no way that I could do it, and that's what made me even more determined," she said.

She wanted to drive the family tractor, which involves shifting through five gears and turning a sluggish steering wheel. And within minutes after her stepfather told her he didn't think she could manage it, there she was, making her rounds of the yard.

‘I See So Much for Her’

But one of her most unlikely dreams was to join the cheerleading squad at North Branch High School. Her parents were encouraging, but a bit leery, she said. They weren't sure how Jessica would manage in an activity that involved so much work with hands. But, as she had countless times before, Jessica managed just fine.

One thing that surprised Jessica was when students from competing schools wrote to express their support. "They just say things like you're, you're an inspiration, you know, we really appreciate what you're doing. You're doing awesome," she said.

One of Jessica's main goals now is to get her driver's license. That will require a special teacher, and a specially-equipped car, but no one doubts it will happen. She plans to study accounting and business management in college, and she has already begun to shine in college preparatory classes — keeping track of sales and inventories, and entering the information in spreadsheets.

It's conventional wisdom to wish for someone at this stage of life to live up to her potential. In many ways, Jessica Parks already has exceeded hers; and in the future this graduating senior may simply have to live up to herself.

"She is only 17, but what she has worked for, and what she has strived for, and how much she's got already, I see, I see so much for her," her mom said.

Jessica says she thinks about the incredible challenges she's faced, and overcome, and about why she's here. She said, "I guess I think I was put here as an inspiration to others — just to show people that whatever they set their mind to, they can get it done, and it doesn't matter what other people say or think. If you want to do something, you can do it. Pretty much anything I set my mind to, I'll be able to figure it out."

ABCNEWS Thomas E. Goldstone contributed to this report.