Thalidomide victim Terry Wiles 50 years on

Fifty years after the thalidomide scandal, the subject of an Emmy-winning drama talks about his life and the injustice still experienced by others.

By Guyon Espiner In Health, Science

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18th August, 2012

Terry Wiles turned 50 this year. Nobody expected him to live this long. But here he is, very much alive, sitting in the sparsely furnished lounge of his modern but modest Papamoa house, where he lives with his wife, Robyn, and Mel the dog. Wiles doesn’t have a paid job but describes himself as an ambassador. He loves people and he loves technology. He loves his iPad and he loves the internet. Wiles doesn’t have any arms or legs. He has one eye and two flipper-like feet. He also has a big heart, a big brain and, as you soon discover, a rather large mouth. Mum was 17 when she gave birth to ...

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