Toren Theiss is 11 years old. He’s an incredibly active young man who plays soccer, ski races and though he wouldn’t brag about it, does quite well at both. It wasn’t until a day in August two years ago when he was walking towards his mother Jill, that she realized something was wrong.

With her shock of blonde hair blowing in the wind, Mari laughs while flying down the trails on her mountain bike and has aspirations to conquer the monkey bars at her local playground. These athletic feats become all the more impressive when you consider the fact that Mari was born missing nearly all of the fingers on her right hand.