A man with an upside down head, a neck folded back in itself, severely deformed legs, and almost unusable arms and hands has been hailed as a beacon to those struggling through life. As a newborn, doctors have declared his nonexistent chance of survival. In fact, his mother has been long advised to simply cease feeding the baby as he will eventually die anyway.

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Claudio Vieira de Oliveira, 37, was born with congenital arthrogryposis. Doctors describe it as a rare condition that is developed prior to birth and only becomes apparent at birth, which causes the person afflicted to have limited or fixed range of motions in the joints of the arms and legs. This will result in diminished mobility of numerous joints, which may impair the daily life of the patient. In de Oliveira's case, these physical disabilities brought about by this disease has caused him to have an upside-down head with his neck folded back. He also has badly bent legs, as well as virtually unusable hands and arms. Nonetheless, de Oliveira braved through all the adversities he encountered. At present, he is working as a certified accountant from the State University of Feira de Santana. He is also endeavoring into becoming a renowned inspirational public speaker.

"People started saying 'the baby is going to die' because he could barely breathe when he was born," Maria Jose, de Oliveira's mother, reminisced. "Some people would say: 'Don't feed him, he is already dying," she added. However, de Oliveira's determination to succeed despite his condition was extremely palpable. The aspiring public speaker shared that he has constantly strived to attend to his needs independently. "Since I was a child I've always liked to keep myself busy and work - I don't like to depend totally on other people," he said. "I have learned to turn on the TV, pick up my cell phone, turn on the radio, use the internet, my computer - I do it all by myself," de Oliveira added.

According to Maria Jose, de Oliveira was raised just like any other person. At age eight, de Oliveira, who had been carried everywhere since birth, began to learn how to walk on his knees. With this effort on her child's part, Maria Jose said that they altered the floor of their home to allow de Oliveira to walk around without getting hurt. They lowered her son's bed, as well as adjusted lights and plugs, to let de Oliveira accomplish his tasks without seeking help from others. The unusual shape of his body deterred de Oliveira to use a wheelchair. This posed a challenge against his desires to venture outside their family home. Despite the difficulties, however, Maria Jose said her son pleaded with her to allow him to go to school and be with other children.   

"We never tried to fix him and always wanted him to do the normal things everyone else does," she disclosed. "That's why he is so confident. He is not ashamed of walking around in the street - he sings and he dances," she shared.

"I don't see things upside-down. This is one of the things I always talk about in my interventions as a public speaker," de Oliveira stated. "Nowadays it's much easier to deal with the public, I'm not afraid of it anymore and I can say that I am a professional, international public speaker and that I receive invitations from all over the world," he revealed.

Tagscongenital arthrogryposis, Claudio Vieira de Oliveira, upside down head, folded neck, State University of Feira de Santana, Maria Jose, public speaker, inspirational