WESTCHESTER COUNTY: Baby With Rare Disorder To celebrate First Thanksgiving At Home

VALHALLA (WESTCHESTER COUNTY) NY:  A 13-month-old girl in Westchester born prematurely with a rare disorder that makes it hard for her to breathe and swallow will spend her first Thanksgiving at home.

It seems so simple, so routine: a baby eating and enjoying food.

In this case, it was a pre-Thanksgiving meal of pureed turkey, sweet potato and even chocolate mousse.

But for 13-month-old Ava Grace Milton this milestone.

Gracie, as she is known,was born last October with a genetic condition that occurs in one out of every 11,000 births.

Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome is equally found in boys and girls.

One of the characteristics of Beckwith Wiedemann Syndrome is an enlarged tongue that obstructs airflow, making both eating and breathing difficult.

In her first four months, Gracie underwent a tracheotomy and tongue reduction surgery to improve airflow.

In March, she arrived at Blythedale Children's Hospital in Valhalla, where speech therapists have been teaching her how to use the muscles in her tongue and mouth safely for swallowing.

The goal is to wean her off the feeding tube through with she still gets much of her nutrition.

Gracie spent three months at the hospital and was discharged in June. She continues her therapy as an outpatient, but that means she'll be able to spend her first Thanksgiving at home.

Gracie’s parents are excited for the holidays coming up and looking forward to having Gracie at the head of this year’s table, trying her first Thanksgiving meal.

So far, her favorite food seems to be sweet potatoes.

And that's reason to give thanks indeed!