Trish Jackson is an expert at smiling through pain; she's been doing it since she was a little girl.

One of 10,000 Thalidomide babies affected by the world's worst pharmaceutical tragedy half a century ago, she is a study in resilience.

When Trish was born in Townsville in 1962, the doctors kept her from her mother for three days because, she says, they thought she was too grossly deformed to be loved.

"Those doctors didn't know my mother, because she loved me from the very beginning," Trish says.

It was her family's love and acceptance, their refusal to treat her any differently, which laid the foundation for the role she plays today making a difference in other people's lives.

Thalidomide survivor Trish Jackson at her home in Morayfield, north of Brisbane. ( ABC News: Donna Field )

The drug they said was safe

Trish has no arms. She has had dozens of surgeries for six holes in her heart. She lives in constant neurological pain caused by the effects of the drug taken by her pregnant mother for morning sickness.

The creator of Thalidomide, Grunenthal, said it was safe; that the drug could not cross the placental barrier.

But thousands of babies suffered birth defects or died before the German company was forced to remove the drug from sale.

Then ensued decades of legal battles and campaigns by Thalidomide families for recognition and compensation. The scandal resulted in tougher drug testing regimes.

Other people the biggest problem

Having to deal with people's attitudes towards the way she looks is what bothers Trish most.

"Bullying is a really big part of my life," she says.

"The minute I step outside my house, I get laughed at, I get stared at.

"People make the rudest comments as they walk past but I don't know why they think they have a right to do that."

It would be easier to hide from the world at the home she shares with her husband Trevor in Morayfield, north of Brisbane.

The 'right attitude'

Instead, Trish volunteers her time, putting herself in front of young people to open their minds.

"When my friend asked me to speak at her school, I thought this was my opportunity to show kids that you don't stare, you just don't," Trish says.

"People are amazing and you can have an amazing life if you have the right attitude."

Trish gives unpaid talks to about 50 Queensland schools each year, spreading a positive message to children and teenagers about acceptance of those who are different, and about pushing through when life is weighing you down.

Trish Jackson presents to young school students at one of the roughly fifty Queensland schools she visits each year. ( ABC News: Donna Field )

Thousands of children have met her in the past four years.

"The story I tell children is that the world doesn't owe me anything. You make what you want in life," Trish says.

"It's about what you can do, not what you can't.

"I could have been a really, really angry person from being born like this.

"If I had listened to all those people who told me that I was worthless, that my life wasn't worth living and that I wouldn't achieve anything, I would have been a very different person."

A passion to counter the pain

Trish is a wife, mother, photographer, artist and public speaker. She uses her feet and mouth to do everything, refusing to rely on mechanical aids.

Trish Jackson gardens with her feet at the Queensland home she shares with her husband, Trevor. ( ABC News: Donna Field )

Trish discovered a talent for drawing, while seeking to offset her daily pain from the contortions she suffers.

"I just picked up a piece of paper and a pen and amazed myself that I could draw. I don't know where it comes from," she says.

Trish Jackson draws with her feet, an activity that she says counteracts her chronic pain. ( ABC News: Donna Field )

On a recent visit to the Deception Bay Flexible Learning Centre, Trish addressed students with their own struggles after falling out of the mainstream system.

Head of campus Michelle Kinnane says the interaction shone a light for the school community.

"Our young people come from very disenfranchised backgrounds and they often lose their concept of having gratitude and hope," she says.

"Someone listening to Trish would have thought: you know what, things are tough for me but I have the power to change and I can make a difference.

"To be able to relate to so many different young people from different backgrounds is an incredible skill to have."

Young Queensland students attempt to draw with their feet like Trish. ( ABC News: Donna Field )

Photographing the photographer

Friend and fellow photographer Libby Best has published a photo essay on Trish, to portray the struggles and the triumphs of her everyday life.

"She's so positive and yet I can see all the pain behind her eyes with what she has to deal with," Libby says.

"Her motivational speaking makes other people think about themselves and what state they are in with trauma, and she turns around their world and makes them feel better about themselves."

Despite feeling exhausted from her school presentations, Trish loves the educational role she plays.

"I get embarrassed when people say that I'm inspirational, because I'm just somebody that has learned to adapt and live with my disability," she says.

But when she thinks back to those doctors who gave her mother such little hope when she was born, there is a certain satisfaction in sticking it to the man.

"People told me that I wouldn't. But I could, I can and I still do."