One-year-old Ava Grace Milton – known as 'Gracie' – was born prematurely and suffers from a rare disorder known as Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome, which occurs in approximately 1 in 15,000 births (in the UK) .
According to the National Health Service (NHS) in Britain, common features of the condition include increased height and weight at birth or in childhood, growth asymmetry, for example one arm or leg larger than the other, a larger than normal tongue , low blood sugar, etc. Some children with this condition are at risk of kidney tumors.
Gracie was born with a large tongue, which affected her ability to eat.
For several months after the birth, she underwent "food therapy", to learn how to move her tongue and how to feed herself.
The NHS explains that Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome is caused by a chromosome abnormality.
Most of these abnormalities cannot be inherited and have a very low chance of running in families.
