A transgender woman born without legs has spoken of her "wonderful life" after finding love .
Piyah Martell, 27, was born with sacral agenesis, a rare congenital birth defect that affects the lower vertebrae.
It meant her spine and legs did not fully develop in the womb.
Born Pedro, Piyah has defied her critics since beginning her transition to a woman.
But she revealed her dad "was not very happy" with her new self at first.
But since he gave Piyah his acceptance, she has fallen in love with a man called Andrew.
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She said: “He has this, like, charm. He had this charm that I was really attracted to.
“Just like every normal couple we fight, we argue, we bicker but we always end up together and we make it work.
“That's the thing about relationships, we communicate," Piyah said.
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Piyah, of Sacramento, California, uses a skateboard as a mobility aide and spends her time raising awareness of issues around disability in the LGBTQ+ community.
But Andrew says their relationship is blooming despite his partner's birth defect.
“It’s not a challenge. Me and Piyah have a wonderful sex life. I see life as wonderful," he said.
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“I thought she is a very beautiful girl. She is sweet. She was nice. And I don't know, she is just wonderful.
“She just brightens up the day every day.”
The pair met six years ago and Andrew has since helped Piyah adapted her home and daily routine to live as normal a life as possible.
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She said: "My disability affects me outside of my house because I have to use a skateboard to get around.
“I have my nice little shoes that I wear inside and out of the house so that I don’t hurt my hands.
“I always make sure either I have gloves, slippers or some type of things on my hands to keep myself safe.”
Piyah’s condition is so rare it is thought to affect less than one in every million people.
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And she admitted she faced challenges at school.
“Going to high school was where a lot of bullying happened.
“Some of the difficulties in school was having to deal with people talking behind my back," the woman added.
Piyah hopes to soon have life-changing surgery in the future completing her transition from male to female.
