A man abandoned at an orphanage after he was born with one limb due to Chernobyl radiation said he is living his “dream life” – and loves proving people wrong.
Tim Mason, 27, was born in Moscow, Russia, in April 1997 – 11 years after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.
Doctors told Tim his biological mother was exposed to high amounts of radiation following the nuclear accident in 1986, causing his disabilities.
The day he was born, his biological mom left him outside an orphanage, with a note saying she didn’t want to raise “a monster”.
Aged three, Tim was adopted by Virginia Mason, from Arlington, Illinois, who said she knew she wanted to be his mom as soon as she saw him.
Growing up, Tim said he had always imagined having the life he has now – living independently, going to the gym, and working full time.
He said he takes it as a challenge when people tell him he can’t do something and loves to prove them wrong.
Tim, an exams officer, from Chicago, Illinois, said: “I am at the point in my life now where I would say I’d make my younger self very happy.
“The life I am living is what I wanted. Growing up, in middle school, I wanted to grow up in the city and be independent.
“It has taken a lot of work, and it hasn’t been easy.
“If I could tell my younger self one thing, it is that ‘everything is going to be ok and you will make it through no matter what’.
“There are going to be people that doubt you, and think you can’t succeed, but if you believe in yourself you can do it.”
Virginia moved Tim to America and he started learning English immediately.
Tim had prosthetics and used a walker and crutch to move around, but said his peers were very supportive.
“Being a young kid around other young kids makes life a lot easier,” Tim said.
“Once they got their question about me answered they were chill.
“It was easy for me to make friends.
“A lot of people think I was bullied in school and it was hard, but school is hard on everyone in middle and high school – you are coming to terms with yourself.”
As he got older, Tim had stopped wearing his prosthetics and said he started to struggle with friends in his teenage years.
Tim said: “One thing that has been limited is forming relationships.
“Growing up was like a rollercoaster.
“Middle and high school is when I started to notice the impacts my disabilities have on making friends.
“I would get asked ‘who would even date you?”
Now, Tim said he is living the life he had always dreamed of.
He lives a fully independent life, goes to the gym and takes his dog out for a walk.
“My mom died in August 2024, after being diagnosed with vascular dementia, Tim said.
“I struggled with her death, I was 188 pounds, which was my highest weight.
“I started working out on the treadmill, I could only do three minutes at first and now I can do around 45 minutes.
“I started working out and going every day, which has been an amazing part of claiming my independence and getting healthy again.
“I have been doing a lot of training, in total I have lost 70 pounds.”
Tim focuses on the positives in his life and loves to show people that ‘life is as normal as he makes it’.
He said: “I do find that I have a lot of positivity, life is meant to be enjoyed.
“Growing up with these challenges, helps you understand how valuable life is.
“I am not always 100% positive but as far as my disability, it has never been something that I felt sad or insecure about.
“I was born into this world like anyone else – you have to make with what you have in life.”
