March or Die

March or Die

Jeremy Stalnecker

"Should We Let Him Go?" The Doctor Asked His Dad. | Daniel Ritchie, Born Without Arms

September 14, 2026   ●   35 min

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The doctor looked at Daniel Ritchie's father and asked if they should let him go.

Daniel was born without arms, a disability two ultrasounds missed, and he came into the world not breathing and not moving. His dad didn't need a second opinion. Less than two minutes later, Daniel was kicking and screaming.

But surviving the delivery room wasn't the hard part. By 13, Daniel hated his life. Bitterness turned into isolation, isolation into depression, and depression into wanting out. Then a friend invited him to a church lock-in he only went to because it sounded like chaos — and a youth pastor spent an hour walking a hostile 15-year-old through the book of Romans.

In this conversation with Jeremy Stalnecker, Daniel talks about identity, contentment, and why the modifier we put in front of "Christian" quietly runs our lives. "I'm not an armless Christian," he says. "Christ is the most important part of who I am. The armless piece is just the refining aspect in the story."

ABOUT DANIEL RITCHIE

Daniel Ritchie is an author and speaker who has spent eight years traveling full-time, sharing his story with churches, conferences, and organizations across the country. danielritchie.com

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