Yahoo Lifestyle Man Demonstrates How He Drives with His Feet After Childhood Virus Paralyzed His Arms and Hands (Exclusive)
Nathan Spencer's arms and hands were paralyzed from a virus during childhood, so now he drives with his feet
Nathan Spencer started learning how to drive around 16 years old just like everyone else. His mother took him to a local church parking lot and let him practice in her old Honda Civic. But while most people put their hands at 10 and 2 on the steering wheel, Spencer's method was a bit different: he used his feet.
After contracting a virus in his spinal cord when he was only 3 years old, Spencer's arms and hands were paralyzed. He recounts how he had “intense therapy” in the years following as he adjusted to life without the use of his upper limbs.
“I had to learn how to do everything over again including walking, talking and sitting up,” he says. “I was in the children's hospital here in Utah for three months as I recovered. From there I learned how to live without my arms and hands.”
It turns out there’s a lot a person can do with their feet, however. The video of him driving with his feet, which has now been viewed more than 8 million times on TikTok, showcases his immense dexterity. Without using his arms or hands, Spencer successfully climbs into the car, buckles his seat belt, starts the ignition and begins driving, using one leg for pedals and the other for the wheel.
“[My mom] had looked into having adaptations for the car to make it easier, but before spending all that money she wanted to see what I was able to do,” Spencer, 23, tells PEOPLE of how he learned to drive. “I had driven my grandparents' golf cart and four wheeler so I actually did really well in the car with no adaptions.”
Spencer has shown off his driving skills on TikTok, where under the username @smartfeet1, he demonstrates all of the things he can do without the usage of his arms or hands. In addition to driving, he can successfully use a mouse and keyboard for work, fly a drone, play video games and drive a manual vehicle.
“Because I was so young when all this happened, I only ever learned by doing things with my feet,” Spencer explains. “Writing, coloring, eating, dressing, brushing teeth, cooking, typing, drawing, video games, piano and skiing are among the many things I do. I live on my own and have had to learn how to make the world work for me."
Though he acknowledges that seeing someone driving with their feet may be a bit shocking to some, Spencer says he passed his road test “with flying colors, because I’ve had to always be cautious.”
“I have a regular driver's license and each year I have my doctor fill out paperwork showing I have functional ability to drive a car,” he continues. “I have never been pulled over and my mom says I'm the safest driver out of all of her kids.”
Read the original article on People
