DESPITE being born with a clubfoot, having a section of the leg amputated at age two, and facing unimaginable tragedy with the loss of her mother to a suspected murder-suicide, 19-year-old Mikayla Brown is taking bold steps to realising her entrepreneurial dreams while learning to walk with a prosthetic limb.

A first-year business administration student at the University of Technology, Jamaica, the young woman is determined to honour her mother’s memory by becoming a cosmetologist and opening her own salon.

She told the
Jamaica Observer that she aims to prove that even in the darkest moments God, resilience, determination, and a passion for life can help anyone overcome the most daunting challenges.

“It took a couple of years to get to this stage, and, honestly, it is God who has made it possible. He made me this way for a reason, and not because I am missing a leg means that I am any different. [In] getting closer to God, He has shown me that I am a normal person, and He made me this way for a reason…He made me this way to show people that He’s working in me, so it has to be God,” said Brown.

The 19-year-old shared that her journey of learning how to walk with a prosthetic limb started in 2023, when she was introduced to Surgix Prosthetics Clinic — a company that helps individuals restore their mobility with prosthetic solutions. Brown said she’s registered with the Jamaica Council for Persons with Disabilities and got assistance from the Ministry of Health and Wellness as well as Sagicor Jamaica to cover the cost for the limb.

Two years later, in a bittersweet process, she’s learning how to walk with the prosthetic leg after using crutches to get around for more than a decade.

“Sometimes I don’t realise that I’m walking on crutches. It just comes to me as normal. I would say when people look at me they see the crutches, but I don’t see that…I see myself as a normal person,” said Brown.

“I’m very sad because I love my crutches. They have been with me for all of my life, so to just put them aside makes me a bit sad. It is a bittersweet moment; I love them, but since I’m growing, they are starting to take a toll on me. I can walk far distances, but when I do, they bruise under my arm,” she explained to the Sunday Observer, adding that it also puts a strain on her left leg and bruises her thigh.

While the transition from crutches to the prosthetics limb has not been the easiest, Brown shared that she is determined and believes she can do anything she puts her mind to.

“My leg is a bit weak because I wasn’t using it before. I was relying on the crutch a lot, so to move my leg and put my balance on the leg, it is a big transition. The more I practise, the easier it comes to me, so I just keep practising,” she shared.

Her determination is further fuelled by the fact that the prosthetic leg will make her dream of becoming a cosmetologist like her mother and opening her own salon that much easier.

Brown’s mother, Jodian McNair, passed away in 2015 when she was stabbed to death, reportedly by her partner. McNair’s partner was also found hanging from an electrical cord at the same premises where her body was found.

A self-taught braider who learned most of her skills from her mother, Brown shared that she has countless cherished memories of watching McNair perform her craft.

“My lifelong dream is to open my own salon and to do hair…I just have a deep passion for it from a young age, and I have the talent. Growing up I saw my mom doing it. I went to the salon with her, so I saw what she did, and I was like, ‘I can do this, too,’ so why not,” she shared.

With the help of the limb, Brown said she will be able to stand for longer hours and better manoeuvre to be able to do her clients’ hair. She intends to put her business degree to good use running a successful salon.

Though her life was turned upside down more than 10 years ago with the passing of her mother, Brown shared that she has a strong support system and a loving relationship with her adopted family.

She lives with her mother’s first cousin, Shawn Franklin, and his wife, Delcita.

“We have had her from primary school, high school, and now college. She’s the youngest of my four children. I have two biological children, and we have two other children that are not biological. The other child is 24 years old, and she has been living with us since she was 12, when her mother died of breast cancer. We don’t see them any different, we have four children, and if you come into the house, you wouldn’t know them any different, non-biological or not, because we have four children,” Delcita told the Sunday Observer.

She explained that Brown’s mom sent her to live with them two weeks before she was murdered.

“Her father has not been an active part of her life, and so when the Child Protection and Family Services Agency removed her from the home, she continued with us, and we got legal guardianship in 2015.

“God, in His wisdom, placed her in this family before her mother died. We didn’t know that her mother was going to go through a murder-suicide. It was really hard, but God placed her in this family before that even happened because He knew,” she said.

Affectionately called mom by Brown, Delcita shared that it has been a great privilege to watch the little girl she has loved for so many years achieve such a huge milestone, but she’s not surprised.

“The crutch has never been a hindrance for her. When people look at her, they see her disability, but she’s not hindered by that disability. For her, that disability is her natural way of life. She does everything like everybody else.

“I remember we were in Miami International Airport, and you know that airport is huge, and she wants to walk. I had to say, ‘No, you have to use a wheelchair,’ and she said, ‘No,’ she can walk,” Delcita recounted, laughing.

“She has always been fiercely independent,” she added.

Delcita shared that Brown even took gymnastics in primary school and won awards for her floor routines and uneven bar techniques.

“We do not try to treat her any differently, and we try to have her develop a sense of independence. She has always been independent,” she told the Sunday Observer.

Brown has seen it fit to document her journey with the prosthetic leg on TikTok to show everyone that anything is possible and that she is not defined by her disability.

“Not because you have a disability it means that it is the end. There is still life in every situation. Never give up. Do not believe what people say. Some people will look at me and say, ‘Oh my gosh, I feel so sorry for her.’ They will think that I was in an accident, but I tend to ignore them because I don’t want pity. Don’t look at me and think, ‘Oh my gosh, she is so sad, I feel sorry for her,’ no. I would tell others don’t give up and do not listen to what people say and just believe in yourself,” said Brown.