Lethe200
Senior Member
- Location
- San Francisco Bay Area
Look at that smile in the last photo! Adorable!
49ers tackle Austen Pleasants honors son, limb-different community with special cleats
San Francisco's Austen Pleasants, shown with wife, Leah, and sons Barrett and Beau, brought awareness to the Little Fin Project in the game against the Carolina Panthers on "Monday Night Football." Courtesy of Lucky Fin Project
SFGATE By Vic Tafur, Nov. 26, 2025
Backup San Francisco 49ers tackle Austen Pleasants was so excited to wear his orange and white cleats on “Monday Night Football” as part of the league’s “My Cause My Cleats” campaign. He wore them for his son and the Lucky Fin Project. Beau was born without the bottom half of his legs and half of his arms.
Pleasants and his wife, Leah, welcomed their son Beau to the world seven months ago, and “he is amazing,” Pleasants said. “He is the happiest baby there is.”
San Francisco's Austen Pleasants, shown with wife, Leah, and sons Barrett and Beau, brought awareness to the Little Fin Project in the game against the Carolina Panthers on "Monday Night Football."
“To be able to bring awareness to limb difference and to show people who may be going through similar situations that they’re not alone is such a blessing,” Pleasants said. “To be able to use our experience to help others, that’s the biggest thing.”
Molly Stapelman founded Lucky Fin in 2010 after her daughter, Ryan, was born with symbrachydactyly, a partially developed hand with missing or incomplete fingers. And yes, Lucky Fin is from the movie “Finding Nemo” and Nemo’s “lucky fin” — being made differently doesn’t hold him back from accomplishing his goals.
Austen Pleasants’ orange and white cleats for the Lucky Fin Project feature Nemo from the movie “Finding Nemo” on the tongue. Courtesy of Lucky Fin Project
“My daughter was born without a fully developed right hand, and we did not get any information from the medical community,” Stapelman said. “It was like pulling teeth. They said, ‘Oh, this sometimes happens.’ It was very isolating, and we were kind of left alone to figure and navigate all this out. “There wasn’t anything out there. There was the Amputee Coalition, but my daughter wasn’t an amputee. She hadn’t lost anything. This was the only body she’s ever had.”
The Lucky Fin Project has created resources, and families seeking help are now referred to it by hospitals and specialists nationwide.
Beau Pleasants, 7 months, was born without the bottom half of his legs and half of his arms.
Pleasants said the initial discovery of Hanhart syndrome — a rare congenital disorder — and the confusion that accompanied it was the “most difficult thing we’ve ever experienced. Finding the Lucky Fin Project and a community of people that had gone through the same thing definitely helped to give us hope for the future,” he said, “and really turned our whole perspective around on what was possible.”
Though Beau’s 2-year-old brother, Barrett, is wild and all over the place, Beau is “chill and calm the whole time, no matter what he’s had going on. He’s always just been go with the flow.”
The Pleasantses put a smile on the face of Lucky Fin families and helped get a message out on the nationally televised “Monday Night Football” game.
“It was a busy night,” Stapelman said. “Our social media was insane — in the most wonderful way. For Austen Pleasants to highlight the Lucky Fin Project in honor of his son increased the visibility for our organization and the limb-different community.
“A lot of people were so excited to see themselves and their children represented. And it also elevated the limb-different community for people who don’t know about it. Awareness, reducing stigma, and inclusion is super important.”
As for Beau, his future is super exciting. “The next steps are we’re waiting for results from a sleep study he had because he had some jaw anomalies that caused some sleep apnea,” Pleasants said. “We’re hopeful that those come back clear and he’ll be off oxygen soon.
“And then as far as his limbs go, they’re going to start the process of getting prosthetics. It’s pretty amazing what they have nowadays. We’ve seen some influencers and people in the Lucky Fin family that have been able to do pretty amazing things with prosthetics.”
And in many cases, live a typical and fulfilling life. “I think the sky’s the limit for Beau,” his dad said, smiling. “He’s gonna be able to do some amazing things.”
49ers tackle Austen Pleasants honors son, limb-different community with special cleats
San Francisco's Austen Pleasants, shown with wife, Leah, and sons Barrett and Beau, brought awareness to the Little Fin Project in the game against the Carolina Panthers on "Monday Night Football." Courtesy of Lucky Fin Project
SFGATE By Vic Tafur, Nov. 26, 2025
Backup San Francisco 49ers tackle Austen Pleasants was so excited to wear his orange and white cleats on “Monday Night Football” as part of the league’s “My Cause My Cleats” campaign. He wore them for his son and the Lucky Fin Project. Beau was born without the bottom half of his legs and half of his arms.
Pleasants and his wife, Leah, welcomed their son Beau to the world seven months ago, and “he is amazing,” Pleasants said. “He is the happiest baby there is.”
San Francisco's Austen Pleasants, shown with wife, Leah, and sons Barrett and Beau, brought awareness to the Little Fin Project in the game against the Carolina Panthers on "Monday Night Football."
“To be able to bring awareness to limb difference and to show people who may be going through similar situations that they’re not alone is such a blessing,” Pleasants said. “To be able to use our experience to help others, that’s the biggest thing.”
Molly Stapelman founded Lucky Fin in 2010 after her daughter, Ryan, was born with symbrachydactyly, a partially developed hand with missing or incomplete fingers. And yes, Lucky Fin is from the movie “Finding Nemo” and Nemo’s “lucky fin” — being made differently doesn’t hold him back from accomplishing his goals.
Austen Pleasants’ orange and white cleats for the Lucky Fin Project feature Nemo from the movie “Finding Nemo” on the tongue. Courtesy of Lucky Fin Project
“My daughter was born without a fully developed right hand, and we did not get any information from the medical community,” Stapelman said. “It was like pulling teeth. They said, ‘Oh, this sometimes happens.’ It was very isolating, and we were kind of left alone to figure and navigate all this out. “There wasn’t anything out there. There was the Amputee Coalition, but my daughter wasn’t an amputee. She hadn’t lost anything. This was the only body she’s ever had.”
The Lucky Fin Project has created resources, and families seeking help are now referred to it by hospitals and specialists nationwide.
Beau Pleasants, 7 months, was born without the bottom half of his legs and half of his arms.
Pleasants said the initial discovery of Hanhart syndrome — a rare congenital disorder — and the confusion that accompanied it was the “most difficult thing we’ve ever experienced. Finding the Lucky Fin Project and a community of people that had gone through the same thing definitely helped to give us hope for the future,” he said, “and really turned our whole perspective around on what was possible.”
Though Beau’s 2-year-old brother, Barrett, is wild and all over the place, Beau is “chill and calm the whole time, no matter what he’s had going on. He’s always just been go with the flow.”
The Pleasantses put a smile on the face of Lucky Fin families and helped get a message out on the nationally televised “Monday Night Football” game.
“It was a busy night,” Stapelman said. “Our social media was insane — in the most wonderful way. For Austen Pleasants to highlight the Lucky Fin Project in honor of his son increased the visibility for our organization and the limb-different community.
“A lot of people were so excited to see themselves and their children represented. And it also elevated the limb-different community for people who don’t know about it. Awareness, reducing stigma, and inclusion is super important.”
As for Beau, his future is super exciting. “The next steps are we’re waiting for results from a sleep study he had because he had some jaw anomalies that caused some sleep apnea,” Pleasants said. “We’re hopeful that those come back clear and he’ll be off oxygen soon.
“And then as far as his limbs go, they’re going to start the process of getting prosthetics. It’s pretty amazing what they have nowadays. We’ve seen some influencers and people in the Lucky Fin family that have been able to do pretty amazing things with prosthetics.”
And in many cases, live a typical and fulfilling life. “I think the sky’s the limit for Beau,” his dad said, smiling. “He’s gonna be able to do some amazing things.”
