A little boy with a rare condition which gave him 12 fingers and 12 toes has defied doctors to learn to smile, walk and communicate in time for his second birthday.One-year-old Ryan Edwards was diagnosed with Ellis-van Creveld syndrome – a bone growth disorder - while he was still in his mother’s womb. His mother Natasha Williams, 26, was told after a 20-week scan that Ryan's body would probably not develop sufficiently to support his organs. She was advised to consider an abortion.She said: ‘The pregnancy was normal until that point. I felt numb when they told me. ‘When the doctor said I should think about termination, I wasn’t surprised - I had a feeling they would raise that as an option. ‘We only had a weekend to decide what we wanted to do. But I’d already made up my mind that Ryan deserved a chance. If he was going to pass away, I wanted him to go on his own terms.‘It didn’t seem right to make that decision for him, before he’d had a chance at life.’Ryan, who was diagnosed at St Michael’s Hospital, Bristol, was delivered by emergency caesarean section on Christmas Day 2011. Ms Williams, a former supermarket cash office assistant, said: ‘I had a lot of scenarios in my head. There was the worry that once he was born he wouldn’t be able to breathe by himself.‘I was incredibly relieved to hear him cry for the first time.’Ellis-van Creveld syndrome is an inherited disorder of bone growth that causes dwarfism.People with the condition have very short arms and legs and a narrow chest. They usually also have extra fingers and toes.More than half of babies with the condition are born with a heart defect - this can be life-threatening.Ellis-van Creveld syndrome occurs in one in 60,000 to 200,000 newborns.Ryan required round-the-clock ventilation and underwent operations on his heart, and to fit him with tubes to allow him to breathe and digest food, after his birth. He was in hospital for a year before medical staff allowed Ms Williams, of Devizes, to take him home.She said: ‘I’d spent the whole year thinking about the possibility that Ryan would never be able to come home, and then, suddenly, he was with me. It was amazing, but scary at the same time.’Ryan began to pass developmental milestones which doctors had predicted would always be beyond him. He smiled and sat up for the first time in hospital and no longer requires constant ventilation. This week he amazed his mother by walking for the first time. Ms Williams said: ‘Ryan will have surgery on his hands to remove a finger from each, but his feet will probably stay as they are because correction is not a priority. ‘Ryan’s a gift. His differences just make him all the more special.‘He walked for the first time just a couple of days ago. I cried when I saw it. Of all the things that doctors said Ryan would never be able to do, I was sure they were right about walking. ‘I thought he would never walk, but then he just started, as if he decided it was easy. It was amazing.’Ms Williams is now raising awareness of Wallace and Gromit’s Grand Appeal for Bristol Children’s Hospital and Ronald McDonald House, Bristol, which provided her with accommodation while Ryan was in hospital.She said: ‘Without that sort of support, I would have found things very difficult. I’m really grateful to everyone who helped me out.‘Ryan gets poorly from time to time - but no more so than any other toddler. I used to get very worried when he was being ventilated constantly. But now, even though I get worried, I tend not to panic in the way I once did. ‘There is discussion of trying to remove Ryan’s breathing tube in the near future, but they need to do a few more tests and keep an eye on him. I’m staying hopeful.’(dailymail.co.uk)ANN.Az