#47 Living Without Limbs - Edgar Pacheco Jr. — Compelled Podcast

Edgar Pacheco Jr. was born without arms or legs. Although he has already faced many hurdles throughout his life, Edgar has always known that God is the one who has kept him and sustained him - and allowed Edgar to thrive, even without limbs.

The following is a summary of the podcast interview above with Edgar Pacheco Jr. Many more details are included in the original podcast episode and we encourage you to listen.

Written by Jace Bower

A Unique Baby

Edgar Pacheco entered this world with a condition that many people would consider a curse: he had no arms or legs. But Edgar himself has trusted God throughout his life and has seen God move in marvelous ways, crafting a beautiful story.

Edgar’s story begins shortly after his parents got married and found they were expecting their first baby. During a routine check-up, an ultrasound revealed that baby Edgar was not developing arms or legs.

He had a rare condition called tetra-amelia syndrome. Edgar’s mother had grown up in the church all her life as a pastor’s daughter, but his father was a new Christian. The two of them both wrestled with God in the wake of the news about their son.

The voices all around the couple: doctors, nurses, neighbors, and others, were all pressuring them to terminate their pregnancy. It grew so bad that the couple had to step away from many relationships and Edgar’s mother stopped going to doctor’s appointments.

The couple was under spiritual attack as well. Edgar’s father prayed with his wife and the two found peace in the midst of one particularly difficult night. Edgar’s mother returned to the prenatal appointments she had been skipping, just in time to find out some more urgent news.

A Rushed Birth

The doctor told Edgar’s mom that her baby was running out of amniotic fluid and needed to be delivered immediately. Edgar’s mother was admitted to the hospital that same day and delivered Edgar via Caesarean section.

As expected, Edgar was born without arms or legs. But the doctors had also warned Edgar’s parents of a myriad other things that could go wrong, including missing internal organs. Sadly, the majority of babies delivered with tetra-amelia are stillborn or die shortly after birth.

But thankfully, none of these terrible predictions happened.

Family Rhythms

Edgar’s parents took their son home and began to adjust to life with him. Soon after Edgar, two daughters came along as well.

The family started to find a rhythm of life. Edgar’s father worked and served in the church. Edgar’s grandparents were particularly close to him, and they spent much time teaching him songs and psalms.

Edgar cherished these years of his life. He had a strong bond with his grandfather in particular. When his beloved grandfather passed away when Edgar was eight, he cried out to God. God met him in a special way and Edgar put his faith in the crucified and risen Jesus.

Daily Needs

Due to his lack of limbs, Edgar needed help with most daily activities, including getting out of bed, using the restroom, eating, and moving around in general. His family and friends helped him with these activities.

As Edgar transitioned into high school, he continued to need help with these basic activities, but new challenges also presented themselves. What would his life look like after high school? Could he ever get a job? Would anyone ever want to hire him?

It turned out God was already working behind the scenes.

A Surprise Meeting

Edgar’s advocate at the school initiated a conversation with administrators about the next steps for Edgar after high school. The school’s vocational coordinator met with Edgar and began to ask him what he was interested in doing.

For years, Edgar's plan had been to finish high school at the top of his class, go to an Ivy League University, and become a computer programmer. But during his senior year of high school, God seemed to close those doors, while simultaneously opening others to a totally different career path.

The vocational coordinator proposed a number of options including law, politics, and government work, and she set up meetings for Edgar with various school officials and local administrators. But one meeting in particular would impact Edgar’s career path more than any other.

Edgar was in class one day when his paraprofessional pulled him out and led him down to the main lobby of the school. While Edgar was confused about what was going on, it seemed like something exciting was in the works. The school’s vocational coordinator had been working for months to book a meeting with (now retired) Congressman Pete Olson, who served Texas’ 22nd Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives.

The meeting lasted about thirty minutes and the two discussed a number of things including Congressman Olson’s love for NASA and his own experience as a pilot. Edgar was able to share his resume with the Congressman and they prayed together before parting ways.

The Internship

Edgar forgot about the meeting and was still unsure about his future. It was something that he prayed about consistently, but there didn’t appear to be any clear doors that God was opening.

But just three weeks after graduating from high school Edgar received an unexpected phone call from Congressman Olson’s office. The staffer on the phone had one question for Edgar: was he still interested in the internship he had applied for months back?

Edgar was stunned but quickly caught on and agreed to accept the internship that his school’s vocational coordinator had submitted his application for. And so just weeks after graduating high school, Edgar was beginning an internship with the Congressman’s office.

Edgar’s primary responsibilities were to do research for the Congressman and to shadow him at events and at meetings with other local leaders.

The internship with Congressman Olsen lasted for three months, when the Representative announced his retirement soon after Edgar began working for him. Despite the brevity of the internship, it made a lasting impression on Edgar. He realized the impact that our government has on everyday citizens, and the importance that we as Christians participate in that process.

Through a long series of events, Edgar felt that God was calling him to run for school board while still a community college student. He didn't win, but from that experience he was invited to begin a job as a Special Education Advocate for children with special needs.

Daily Asking God for Strength

Early in 2021, Edgar began working on a bill at the Texas Legislature that would help children with special needs receive better care. A bill that had failed to pass for six years in a row. This opportunity would once again let him see God working.

As the bill made its way through committees and hearings, Edgar was called on to testify at the last minute. He continued to be active in advocating for the bill and was given the opportunity to stay in Austin for seven weeks, meeting with state legislators and educating them about the bill. As the clock was ticking down and the Texas Legislature was about to adjourn, Edgar realized that if they didn’t pass the bill within the next few days then they wouldn’t have another opportunity until two years later.

Each day that Edgar entered the Capitol to work on the bill he would pray, asking for God to be with him, confessing his weakness and inability to pass the bill on his own. And each day God showed up to strengthen Edgar.

God used the efforts of Edgar and the other advocates, and the bill passed both chambers of the Texas legislature during the final days of the legislative session and was signed into law by the Texas Governor in the summer of 2021.

Power in Weakness

Edgar always came back to the passages in the Bible that speak of God’s glory shining through our weaknesses. He is amazed that God was able to use him, a young man without arms or legs, to do great work for Him.

Edgar doesn’t regret his life or wish he had been born differently. He sees the power of God working in an ordinary person like him to impact others for good. And as Edgar has trusted God, God has used him mightily and given him unique opportunities to touch others with God’s love, even without limbs.

Edgar’s story is an encouragement to all of us that God is with us no matter what we go through and that He is working all things out for our good. No matter what weaknesses we may have, God is redeeming them for His glory.

—
Jace Bower is a writer with a passion for justice and biblical principles. He writes at jacebower.com.

“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”

— Psalm 46:10 (Edgar's Life Verse)

“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.

My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.”

— Psalm 139:13-16