Growing up, no one seemed to offer sufficient spiritual or medical explanations for his missing limbs, even though his father was a Christian pastor and his mother a nurse. Nick was bitter until age 12, when his mother showed him a newspaper article about a man dealing with a severe disability. It would change his outlook on life. Suddenly, he wasn't the world's only struggling person.

Then, at 15, he began believing in God. “Everything happens for a reason,” he said of his disability. “God knew my pain. I wanted somebody who knew my pain to say everything was all right. That was something only He could do. Now I see His great plan.”

With only a 7‑inch left foot, he in time would learn to type, write, walk, comb his hair, brush his teeth, and take care of personal needs. And he would earn a Bachelor of Commerce degree.

As a public speaker today, he travels the globe. “It's my passion,” he said. “One of my goals is to give people hope.”

After speaking at corporate functions, grown men have wept on his shoulders because of his story. He receives scores of e‑mails, some from teens who had been contemplating suicide until they heard him speak at their school.

“I used to hate it when people stared at me,” Nick said, “but now I take it as an opportunity. I deliberately make sure I smile back. One day this lady put her arms around me and, without saying a word, started crying on my shoulder. ‘Your smile just brightened my day,’ she said.”

He is especially passionate about reaching people with disabilities in third world countries. “I may not be able to change the world,” Nick told me, “but by God’s grace I want to change the world of thousands of people.”

For more, see www.danieljvance.com or www.lifewithoutlimbs.org.