Carolina Nunez de la Torre, from Notre-Dame-de-l'Île-Perrot, was born with a congenital amputation of her left hand. She is enrolled in LES VAINQUEURS, a program for amputee children run by the War Amps Association, and participates in some of their activities. On May 26, she laid a wreath in tribute to veterans in Pointe-Claire, to mark the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings. Apart from these activities, Carolina, who turns 16 on July 21, leads a perfectly normal life. Neomedia interviewed her.

As her father, Augusto, explains in an interview with his daughter, her left arm ends a little past the elbow. Of course, she's right-handed. Originally from Peru, the family arrived here 32 years ago in Canada, and their 4 children were born here.

Carolina says: "When I started school, in grades 1 and 2 at École François-Perrot, I was very lonely. I felt like everyone was watching me, and I always played alone." She adds, "From 3rd grade onwards, everything changed: people wanted to get to know me, I knew what it was like to have lots of friends. I played and talked with my friends, I was really happy," she recalls. 

As her father says: "From the moment she was born, my wife and I never hid her arm from view, nor did she attend any special schools. When she goes out, she dresses as she likes, she walks around like anyone else." This is certainly an attitude that fosters acceptance and adaptation.

Next year, she will be in Secondary 5. She love drawing. "I've created several characters and have lots of ideas. My characters are human and I draw them according to my imagination, either in HB pencil, marker or watercolor," she confides.

Without a shadow of a doubt, she assures us that she is very independent: "except for special events, I don't generally wear prostheses; I adapt to all life's events."

On July 21, she turns 16, and it's going to be quite a celebration at home. "We're Latino by culture," Nunez de la Torre adds with conviction. In Quebec, we sometimes just invite the kids to parties, and the parents come and lead them in and take them back at the end of the party. We tell them to come in, come in, we want to chat, we want to get to know you. It's part of our culture," he smiles. There will be around thirty people at the house, and Carolina is looking forward to it.

Carolina is the youngest in the family, surrounded by three older brothers, aged 29, 26 and 22. "She never goes out alone in the streets or parks after dark; her brothers protect her at all times," says her father.

What are Carolina's plans for the future? "I'm really not sure, I'm considering several possibilities, I'd like to continue drawing and painting, I'm also thinking of doing something related to video games or an activity associated with singing", she sums up.

Does she like singing? "I'm not confident in my voice at the moment; no one has heard me because I sing alone, mostly in English and Spanish", she admits. Perhaps she'll get the chance to practice more eventually?

She's thinking of working for a while this summer in her mother's office, where she works in accounting. This will give her a taste of the job market. By her own admission, and like any normal young girl, she'd like to get married one day and have children.

So far, the War Amps have provided her with three prostheses, because of course she's growing up. "The next one may be a special prosthesis," says her father, "to play the violin."

Carolina's life is like that of any young girl her age. She is lucky to be well surrounded, encouraged, loved, protected without being overprotected. Happy 16th birthday Carolina!