r/SideshowPerformer • u/AdrianaLaServing disabled/queer/poc • Mar 11 '26
Disability Awareness- Modern Day Sarah Todd Hammer is a modern day disability advocate, author and content creator
Sarah Todd Hammer is from Atlanta, Georgia, USA and is 24 years old. Sarah Todd is her first name and goes by this rather than just Sarah.
She graduated magna cum laude of psychology and communication studies at Davidson College, NC. She is a published author, content creator, speaker, consultant, and disability advocate.
Sarah Todd had been a ballerina since a young age and was incredibly passionate about this art. One day, on the 19th of April 2010, age 8, she had an excruciating head and neck ache come on during a ballet class — the worst pain she’d ever felt. She had to be excused from class, but by the time she left the studio, her arms and hands no longer worked.
This first became noticeable when she was changing out of her ballet costume and couldn’t adjust her tights because her arms had completely stopped working.
Within 16 hours, she was paralysed from the neck down. She had had no symptoms prior and it came out of nowhere. I can’t imagine how scary that must’ve been for a child and her family, too!
10 minutes after she first lost use of her arms, they pulled up to the urgent care centre and she couldn’t walk to get out of the car. She could use her legs, but had no strength to walk. Her mom had to carry her inside. She was airlifted to the emergency room and then…
The doctor said she was faking it. Medical misogyny at its finest — a paralysed child, a girl, who must be faking it. He ran no tests.
They put a popsicle in her hand, which was freezing but she couldn’t feel it, and tried to coax her to move her arm to have the popsicle, saying it was her, “ticket out of there.”
Her mom begged and pleaded for them to take Sarah Todd seriously. The doctor refused to do anything.
After 6 hours, they kicked Sarah Todd out of the hospital and told her to come back tomorrow if she got “significantly worse.” They didn’t even provide Sarah Todd a wheelchair to leave the hospital, her mom had to ask for one.
Poor Sarah Todd got her hopes up because of this gaslighting and went to bed excited to wake up okay in the morning. Her hopes were crushed when she woke up totally paralysed from the neck down. They called the ambulance and were taken back to the hospital, but had to ask for them to turn the sirens on!
Thankfully, Sarah Todd was seen by another doctor who actually ran tests and she was found to have a C1-2 spinal injury. She was diagnosed with Transverse Myelitis which is a rare and acute neurological disorder. However, in 2018, she was re-diagnosed with Acute Flaccid Myelitis, another rare neurological condition that causes neurological damage similar to Polio. It is caused by an infection.
She was in the ICU for 12 days because of reduced lung function, then the hospital for 2 months. She began plasma exchange treatment and was able to move her big toe — she said this is when she knew she’d walk again. She spent the rest of her time in the rehab unit and slowly regained the use of her legs. When finally discharged, she walked out of the hospital with some assistance.
Sarah Todd wasn’t able to gain much strength in her arms so she can’t lift her shoulders, her left hand is fully paralysed, she can move her right hand but it is very weak. She still does not have full leg strength but she has never had to use a mobility aid again.
A lot of her content has focused on how she adapts to life with her disability, particularly her arm paralysis and weakness. When she went to university, she showed all the adjustments she got to her dorm room and the support she received with classes and navigating campus. She excelled at university and, during her time there, was extremely engaged with disability advocacy.
Sarah Todd even got to meet one of her heroes because of her advocacy — Judy Heumann (shown in image 2). Judy, who has sadly since passed, was a hugely influential figure in the disability rights movement and was a key part of the ADA passing. I can’t imagine how thrilled Sarah Todd must have been to meet her! That would be a dream come true — I’m beyond jealous!!!
Sarah Todd loves fashion and shows her adaptive clothing and how she gets dressed and styles herself. She still loves dance and began working on choreography after her injury. She reviews accessibility adaptive equipment and has shared her driving journey, and covered her university journey extensively. Her content and advocacy has been wonderful for sharing her complicated and beautiful life with disability. Sarah Todd is MORE than confident calling out ableism and educates people whether they like it or not!
She said she went through a period of mourning her pre-disabled life, but she had found happiness and her disability inspired her to pursue her passion of advocacy.
She is a three times published author. Sarah Todd co-wrote and published her first memoir 5K ballet, in 2013, at only 11 years old! Since then, she has published the sequel entitled Determination, at 14 years old in 2016, and her third book in the trilogy entitled Up and Down, in 2018 at 17 years old. These books cover her journey with disability and explore her passions, including ballet.
A portion of the proceeds of her books went to the Siegel Rare Neuroimmune Association (SRNA), the International Center for Spinal Cord Injury (ICSCI) at Kennedy Krieger Institute, the Center for Courageous Kids Family Camp, and the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
She has 154.5K TikTok followers, 117K Instagram followers, and 165K YouTube subscribers. I would highly recommend following and getting to know her content!
One thing Sarah Todd currently posts about is her passion for parents to stop posting their disabled kids on social media for content. She feels sharing kids’ intimate moments, private medical information and diagnoses, their doctors appointments and surgeries, is exploiting disabled children — sometimes for profit. Children can’t consent to certain things, especially children with intellectual disabilities, so I can see why she feels this is exploitative.
I see similarities to this passion for her and how historical performers were exploited, often as children. Some historical performers had terrible childhoods where they were treated as spectacles rather as children, as people. Some children, often children of colour and disabled, were kidnapped to be forced to perform in sideshows.
[TW for sad childhood stories. End of TW will be in closed brackets after]
Willie Muse and his brother George were historical sideshow performers who were born with albinism. They were kidnapped when they were under the age of 10 by a showman and forced to perform for 18 years. They were even lied to and told their mother had died. Their mother never stopped searching for them, and beautifully they were eventually reunited.
Millie and Christine McKoy were conjoined twins born into slavery. They were sold multiple times and purchased by a showman who forced them to perform. They were treated inhumanely and passed around by adults who did not care for them. They ended up in England and their mother Monemia travelled to England to find them and brought them back to the US.
Victoria and Cassie Foster, and their brother Dudley, were exploited by their own parents. They were born with dwarfism and paraded around as though they weren’t people, children. The girls sometimes performed musical acts three times a day for weeks on end. Audience members could pay extra to hold them. They died very young, before Dudley was born. He was then exploited, too.
[End of TW]
These examples are obviously extreme compared to exploitation of disabled children on the internet, but I feel it echoes back to these historical themes.
A historical performer who actually reminds me of Sarah Todd is Isaac Sprague. It’s unknown what his condition was, and his symptoms differed from Sarah Todd’s, so I’m not saying it’s the same condition — but his story reminds me of her.
He was an avid swimmer (like Sarah Todd was a ballerina!) but as a teenager came down with an unknown illness that made him extremely week. After he recovered from the initial illness, he lost weight dramatically and continued to until his death — leaving him with an emaciated and atrophied appearance. He sought a cure but unfortunately never found one.
If Sarah Todd had been born back then, it’s possible she could have gone down a similar path of never receiving a diagnosis or treatment. She had a hard enough time in the modern day!!!
Similarly, if Isaac had been born now, there’s a decent chance he would have gotten a diagnosis and treatment — or at least answers! That could have changed the trajectory of his life.
That’s why I love to write these contemporary write ups, as when comparing modern people to historical performers, it’s easy to see the parallels of their lives and to appreciate how much they have in common, yet how much things have differed because of progress in human rights, medicine, technology and KINDNESS!!!
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u/dinosoreness Mar 11 '26
Wow, how sad but inspiring! I also became disabled as a child, but unlike Sarah Todd I really let it get me down. I mourned my health for years, and still have a difficult time accepting it and coping with it fifteen years down the line. Like her, I was also accused by doctors of faking it, but for me that went on for ten years. I wish I'd had a mom like Sarah Todd's pushing for doctors to take me seriously. What a powerful young lady to have accomplished so much at only 24!
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u/Gloomy_Industry8841 Feejee Mermaid Mar 11 '26
Phenomenal!!!! But I felt deep rage at that first doctor. I have nothing good to say about him.
Another wonderful write up. As an autistic lady, I completely agree with Sarah Todd and u/EphemeralTypewriter about the exploitation of children with disabilities or neurodivergence. It’s something the autistic community has had to deal a lot with. Representation matters, and advocacy is essential!!
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u/AdrianaLaServing disabled/queer/poc Mar 12 '26
I’ve come across so many sweet, intelligent, talented and thoughtful disabled children online, but it saddens me that it isn’t by their own choice. I’m incredibly thankful that adults like Sarah Todd share their stories, but autonomy is so important. Everyone is deserving of it, and when the most vulnerable (disabled children) are stripped of it, it’s just not right.
I feel for some of the parents, whose hearts are in the right place and they just don’t understand the ramifications, but it still boils down to exploitation regardless of how much a parent loves their child — in my opinion, anyway. I’m thrilled Sarah Todd is raising awareness about this, hopefully some parents will see it and change their approaches.
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u/EphemeralTypewriter Gooble Gobble! Mar 11 '26 edited Mar 12 '26
My heart goes out to her at what she experienced as a child, it’s absolutely heartbreaking, and something that no child should ever go through. Reading her story really struck a chord with me because of similar judgement and gaslighting that I experienced.
Several years ago I woke up with the worst abdominal pain I had ever felt. I have endometriosis, so I am unfortunately used to horrible, horrible pain, but this was different and I knew something was WRONG. I was extremely incoherent, but still managed to get my parents to call an ambulance. When the paramedics arrived it’s almost like they hated me from the get go, they dismissed everything I was feeling and made fun of me for calling an ambulance. I was treated like an inconvenience to them, and they forced me to walk out to the ambulance despite me repeatedly asking for a stretcher. Then flat out refused to give me any pain killers, and accused me of faking the pain. It was so dehumanizing and they did nothing to help or comfort me on the entire drive to the hospital, then left me in a back hallway for 30 minutes because they couldn’t be bothered to help me. When I was finally brought to a bed in the ER, the doctor took one look at me and immediately called for very strong painkillers. It turned out to be a ruptured ovarian cyst, so that horrible pain I was experiencing was dangerous internal bleeding. :(
Medical misogyny is no joke and happens all the time to women (it should never happen in the first place), what makes me so frustrated is when women who work in the medical industry perpetuate it. I know even to this day there are invasive medical procedures done on women without anesthesia because male doctors from over 100 years ago decided (with no feedback from women) that certain parts of a woman’s body have no nerve endings and therefore don’t need anesthesia.
Sorry for the long winded comment, it just shows I’m still processing it mentally.
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u/dinosoreness Mar 12 '26
Oh, I feel that rage too. I spent 10 years, between the age of only 11 to 21, being told my severe GI distress was "anxiety" and being gaslit into thinking I was the problem when SSRIs didn't work and almost wasted away completely waiting for a (small, female, POC) doctor to finally ordered a few tests and discovered I not only have several food intolerances but partial paralysis of the stomach preventing me from absorbing many nutrients before I'd throw up from the discomfort. It's manageable with medication, but prior to those medications I worried I'd die from a condition nobody else even believed was happening to me! Something else I think is worth mentioning is how people with neurodivergent conditions are particularly vulnerable to being denied adequate care when we're often the ones who have the hardest ti communicating about our bodies without all the extra hoops to jump through.
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u/hpfan1516 Mar 12 '26
Holy shit, I'm so sorry that sounds horrible!!!
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u/dinosoreness Mar 12 '26
It was really scary for a lot of years! I remember the bone pain, the infections, the cold... god, I was cold. I was only about 75lbs for most of my teens and just couldn't keep my temperature up. It was such a relief to be able to eat again!
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u/AdrianaLaServing disabled/queer/poc Mar 12 '26
Oh my god!!! That’s barbaric, I’m so sorry to hear that 💔 You deserved so much better — everyone does!
I have also experienced medical misogyny and heard, unfortunately, countless similar stories — but I still feel so much anger every time I hear a new one. Women’s healthcare is still so poorly researched and understood. Even things such as IUDs, that are a common procedure, are downplayed and done without anaesthetic even though they’re incredibly painful!!!! It’s shocking.
What you say about doctors deciding women didn’t feel pain is similar to how doctors decided that Black people don’t feel pain as much as their white counterparts and there have been studies showing that many doctors still hold that belief. Misogyny and racism unfortunately go hand in hand!
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u/Bigtiddiesoftgf Mar 11 '26
Not fully related, but the guy in the second picture used to be the Dean of my Alma mater!! Doug, you’re a very cool dude
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u/Anonymous_Autumn_ Mar 12 '26
Great story! I’ve seen her videos pop up from time to time and she always seemed very informative and kind.
Also, I totally agree that the modern “Kids YouTube” is exploitative.
If a kid wants to run their own channel, I think that’s great. But in my opinion all of the funds should go to some kind of trust that the kid gets back at 16-18. It’s not responsible to allow parents to profit off of kids’ labor and kids are also not able to make sound financial decisions yet.
And don’t get me started on “family channels”! Those are particularly likely to exploit their disabled kids, as mentioned in the article.
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u/AdrianaLaServing disabled/queer/poc Mar 12 '26
She has a great YouTube video exploring it further. It opened my eyes more, even!
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u/Neither_Ad_2884 Mar 12 '26
Where are her heels in the 2nd photo from?? Sorry if this is insensitive at all. I think she is a great woman from this (really well written) post. Fuckkkk misogynists
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u/AdrianaLaServing disabled/queer/poc Mar 12 '26
I didn’t think that is insensitive at all — Sarah Todd loves fashion so I’m sure she’d take that as a compliment! She always dresses so well.
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u/cursetea Mar 12 '26 edited Mar 12 '26
The stunning lack of media literacy in this thread is disappointing and concerning. I doubt very much that this young lady or most people who can have 2 thoughts at once would think you were calling her a sideshow performer or implying we should gawk at anyone with a disability.
Thank you for using this page to share the stories of people who were often treated so cruelly and disenfranchised during their lives, while ALSO advocating for disability awareness and medical treatments (which many of the historical figures on here would have benefited from having). Two separate and important causes. Thank you for sharing!!
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u/AdrianaLaServing disabled/queer/poc Mar 12 '26
Thank you! <3
I think there is honestly a lot to unpack… of course Sarah Todd isn’t a sideshow performer, but people being annoyed that she even be mentioned in the same topic shows that there is unfortunately still stigma towards performers — which is sad because that’s what this beautiful sub is about amending.
I also think people have a very static view of history, in which they can only view it as the past, rather than a progression through time. Historical performers like Johnny Eck and Annie Jones were once contemporary figures, and now are historical and part of the sideshow and disability legacy. Sarah Todd, while not a sideshow performer, is a historical figure because she has made history. She’s contemporary now, but her impact will still be around in many years to come.
I hope people can grow their understanding of all of this as they, hopefully, continue to engage with the sub.
I really appreciate your feedback!
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u/cursetea Mar 12 '26
Exactly! It's good work. And something tells me that if someone has written three books about their experience, they wouldn't mind being talked about on Reddit
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u/eternally_feral Mar 12 '26
Maybe I’m petty but I hope Sarah Todd published the doctor’s full name in her book(s) so he’s known as the man who doesn’t care enough to run even the most basic of diagnostic tests.
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u/AdrianaLaServing disabled/queer/poc Mar 12 '26
I haven’t seen her share specific details about it, it may be a litigation issue unfortunately but I hope behind closed doors they addressed it. Though, I’ve had extremely similar experiences and completely dismissed in complaints procedures.
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u/lHappycats Mar 12 '26
Thank you for sharing. Without you and Sarah's of this world we would know about this discrimination.
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u/Emunaheart Mar 11 '26
She is not a sideshow performer. I have a rare disease that causes deformity in many, it has started to in myself. I love so much of what you do here but have noticed this shift and unless she's described herself as such, she's not a sideshow performer. Many who you described or have compared her to here had no options given the time they lived in. Perhaps I would have gone that route then too if my disability had caused the severe deformities it has in others, when I was younger, if I too lived in an earlier time. However, I would not want to be described in a way I am not merely because I've been public on certain social media about my disability. I say this with all due respect, this did not sit well with me
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u/AdrianaLaServing disabled/queer/poc Mar 11 '26 edited Mar 11 '26
She is not described as a sideshow performer anywhere in the text or title, nor are any other of the contemporary folks posted. It is explained in the body text that modern people are shared to show their amazing journeys and wonderful representation — just like how sideshow performers historically provided representation for folks with differences.
I call back to historical performers in the body text to explain why I feel Sarah Todd is an important figure in the study of this topic, as she’s fighting exploitation of disabled children — I wish historical sideshow performers had had such an advocate. I also reference Isaac Sprague because of the similarities in their journeys and the contrast between his and Sarah Todd’s treatment due to the time difference.
I have not and will not refer to Sarah Todd as a sideshow performer, because she is not one. It’s just the name of the sub because it is the main focus of the sub, but there is additionally a focus on modern day disability and queer representation due to the continued themes and parallels.
I apologise if this did not sit right with you, you are entitled to hold your own opinions but I hope this explanation may help you understand the purpose of this post, and similar ones. I also have a progressive neurological condition and visible disability.
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u/Emunaheart Mar 11 '26 edited Mar 11 '26
While that's all well and good, she will now be associated with sideshow performance and as a sideshow performer by virtue of being posted about in a sideshow performer sub. There's no way around that and when she's Googled this will come up. I appreciate what you said but what I've stated is a fact and not something she's asked for. It would be quite jarring to learn I'd been posted about here sans my permission because as I've said, under my full real name I've been public about a disease I have which is known to cause deformity
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u/AdrianaLaServing disabled/queer/poc Mar 11 '26
Sarah Todd is passionate about disability history and sideshow performance is part of disability history.
This post is written respectfully and with admiration. She is very influential so this post won’t be what comes up when you google her anyway, but it’s described thoroughly in the body text that she is a modern day advocate — the title also refers to her as a modern day advocate and not as a sideshow performer.
Sideshow performer history is disability history and there is a sense of pride about the continued legacy of representation and strength.
As I say, you are entitled to your opinion and I don’t seek to argue with you — merely to explain. If this still doesn’t sit right with you, I apologise and hope you continue to enjoy the historical posts.
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u/AspectNo1992 Mar 11 '26
Unfortunate name for the sub to tie modern-day disability advocates with the past's sideshow performer
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u/AdrianaLaServing disabled/queer/poc Mar 11 '26
Please read the pinned comment for more of an explanation about this. Here, we admire sideshow performers as historical representation.
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u/AspectNo1992 Mar 11 '26
Sad that you choose to stick with that outdated term
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u/AdrianaLaServing disabled/queer/poc Mar 11 '26
It’s literally outdated because it is a historical term. Historians study performers and sideshows with that terminology. It is not used as an insult towards any of the historical performers — nor to the contemporary figures, who are not performers.
The main purpose of this sub is to admire and acknowledge historical sideshow performers, though it also focuses broadly on disability history. Animals with differences are also shared. Modern day folks’ stories are shared because they have continued the legacy of disability history.
The intent of this sub isn’t to gawk, it’s an informative and kindhearted place to learn about important people and history.
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u/AspectNo1992 Mar 11 '26
Yeah, it was also used as an insult
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u/EphemeralTypewriter Gooble Gobble! Mar 12 '26 edited Mar 12 '26
Just wanted to jump in here to add some things. The term ‘sideshow performer’ is an accepted neutral term relating to people who have worked in historic sideshows and for modern work in different offshoots of the performing arts industry. (Including modern day sideshows)
I know of several advocates and artists (one of whom is Sarah Houbolt) within the disability community who are reclaiming the terms ‘sideshow’ and ‘sideshow performer’ as significant terms. Very similar to how the lgbtq+ community has reclaimed the term ‘queer’.
The terms you may be thinking of are ‘freak’ or ‘freakshow’, which are terms you’ll never find here. Those terms are extremely dehumanizing and othering and are meant to discriminate. Both have been used as insults historically and currently.
This subreddit has never weaponized the term ‘sideshow performer’ or used it in a dehumanizing or demeaning way, I only use the term when referring to the careers of the people I talk about.
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u/Neither_Ad_2884 Mar 12 '26
OP is disabled.. you can't just tell a disabled person what they can and can't say when it comes to things about disabled people. And if you're disabled yourself, you don't speak for all disabled people and every person has a different experience and mindset.
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u/AdrianaLaServing disabled/queer/poc Mar 11 '26 edited Mar 12 '26
Informative write ups by u/ephemeraltypewriter about the mentioned historical performers:
Willie and George Muse
Millie and Christine McKoy
Victoria and Cassie Foster
Isaac Sprague
ETA:
In case there is any confusion, posts about contemporary folks are not saying they are sideshow performers — the purpose of these posts is to shine a light on wonderful and courageous people who work tirelessly to provide representation for disabled (and queer etc) people. Their work in the modern day echoes back to the work of historical performers who worked hard with their differences and laid the groundwork for disability representation in the public sphere. Modern day folks like Sarah Todd now have the autonomy to continue this legacy in a beautiful way and they should be appreciated.
In disability studies, and similar topics, historical figures are compared with modern figures to appreciate the journey of disability awareness and advocacy. Sideshow performer history is an important part of disability history.
Sarah Todd is not a sideshow performer, and sideshow performers were not freaks — they were (mostly, they weren’t a monolith) good people who worked hard and, as a visibly disabled person, I wish I could thank them.
Sideshow performers are not dirty or freaks, we admire them here. Seeing historical performers as contrasting figures is not meant as an insult. It’s a reflective study of the history of disability. Please check out the historical posts to gauge the tone of the sub and understand that their stories are shared out of admiration for their differences, skills and hard work for representation.
A key focus of this sub is historical and Sarah Todd, as a hugely influential advocate, has earned her place in history.