Inspiring and heartbreaking story of a thalidomide survivor | 60 Minutes Australia

This week, Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese delivered a national apology to thalidomide survivors.

Terry Wiles is one of the 3,000 who survived thalidomide, the devastating drug that affected 10,000 babies worldwide. The popular sedative, used to treat nausea in pregnant women in the late 1950s, resulted to severe defects in their offspring. But those like Terry, who was featured in this 60 Minutes story from 1990, proved how one can live an exceptional life - with or without their disability.

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*Synopsis | Love Story (1990)*
Terry Wiles is only 28, but already he's had a remarkable life. He's a Thalidomide victim, who was so badly deformed, his mother abandoned him at birth. Confined to an institution, he endured the cruelty of the other children and was used as a human guineapig by medical researchers. Then, along came Len and Hazel Wiles, who took him into their home and their hearts. Together, they fought the system for compensation and the right to attend a normal school. Eventually, after a lengthy court battle, Len and Hazel were allowed to adopt this limbless boy and give him the chance he so desperately needed. As Hazel tells Mike Munro, 'He's not a freak, he's my son - and he's handsome.' Now, Terry and his family live in New Zealand, where he works with other disabled people, and where he met Robyn Johnson. She was scorned by her friends and relatives, when she decided to leave her able-bodied husband and live with Terry. They're now engaged and will be married later in the year.

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For over forty years, 60 Minutes Australia have been telling Australians the world’s greatest stories. Tales that changed history, our nation and our lives. Reporters Liz Hayes, Tom Steinfort, Tara Brown, Nick McKenzie and Amelia Adams look past the headlines because there is always a bigger picture. Sundays are for 60 Minutes Australia.

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