Claudio Vieira de Oliveira

Claudio was born with a complicated body structure due to the arthrogryposis syndrome. He was born with his head being positioned upside down and with severely deformed limbs.[1] He was also born with muscular astrophy in his leg muscles, arms being stuck to his chest and his head being turned all the way back.

The doctors initially expected that he might not be able to survive beyond 24 hours soon after his birth and they even advised his mother to let him starve to death.[2][3] However, his mother kept faith on him and she was brave enough ignoring doctors advice and instead decided to raise him up all alone by herself.[4] Claudio was carried by his mother until the age of seven and he started to walk on his knees since the age of eight. It was also reported that his parents had renovated the house keeping his mind about his disability.[5]

He currently lives in the small municipality of Monte Santo, Bahia which is situated in the North Eastern Brazil.[6] In March 2021, it was revealed that he has been under self quarantine for over a year due to the COVID-19 concerns.[7][8]

He became a professional qualified accountant after graduating from the State University of Feira de Santana. He began his career as an accountant by engaging in research and consulting clients despite his disability. Claudio also became a motivational speaker in 2000 and travelled to various countries to deliver motivational speeches.[9] In 2016, he wrote and published his autobiography as a book titled El mundo esta a contramano (The World is the wrong way around). The book was launched at the Art Museum of the City of São Paulo in South East Brazil.[10]

• Nick Vujicic, an Australian-American evangelist, motivational speaker and survivor of tetra-amelia syndrome
• Hirotada Ototake, a Japanese sports writer and survivor of tetra-amelia syndrome
• Joanne O'Riordan, an Irish tetra-amelia syndrome survivor
• Jennifer Bricker, an American acrobat born without legs