US toddler born with no legs defies odds by doing handstands and flips

Meet the toddler who has defied a super-rare condition only seen fifty times before and was born with no legs - who now does handstands and flips.

Three-year-old Oliver Buckingham was diagnosed with a genetic disorder sacral agenesis - where his lower spine didn't develop properly.

But he also has Baraitser-Winter Syndrome which affects his brain and face - and only 50 people have been diagnosed with it.

He is missing both legs, has structural issues with his jaw, is hard of hearing in one ear, and is nonverbal.

But, when he was only a year and a half, Oliver could hold himself upright and move around with his arms by himself.

Doctors questioned how he would develop - but now loves nothing more than doing flips and handstands.

His mum Brooke Buckingham, 24, is so proud of her little lad who has taught himself to drive a wheelchair and communicate using a tablet.

Brooke, from Mesa, Arizona, USA, said: "He truly does not allow anything to slow him down. If he wants to do something, he will find a way.

"I wouldn’t put anything past Oliver- I think he could be a gymnast, an artist, a musician, an athlete, anything he wants.

Brooke said: "He can do handstands, flips, hold himself like a plank, transfer to and from surfaces with his chair - he’s so amazing."

''We just do our best to educate, despite age, that people can look different. Differences make us unique!"

Brooke believes her son was born with complex needs due to being exposed to medication she was given while he was in the womb.

His mum sadly suffered a miscarriage in late February 2018 after discovering that her baby wasn't developing a heartbeat.

Her doctor prescribed her a drug to help speed up the process before her husband Jacob Buckingham, 25, got married on March 31, 2018.

After that, the couple went straight on their honeymoon to Orlando, Florida, not thinking they could get pregnant again so soon after a miscarriage.

But Brooke said she had the "feeling" and took a pregnancy test as soon as she got home to North Dakota, and it was positive.

She said: "Knowing what I knew about the medication, I thought this is not going to be good.

"I didn’t even have a cycle between my miscarriage and getting pregnant with Oliver."

She went back to the doctors and was confirmed she was pregnant, but at her 12-week ultrasound, she was given some shocking news.

The stay-at-home mum said: "They confirmed that he wasn’t going to have legs. There were a lot of tears for a long time."

Doctors thought that because of the shape of Oliver's jaw he might not be born with an airway and need surgery straight away after birth.

Brooke and Jacob were urged by doctors to terminate the pregnancy.

She said: "They were really pushing me with that one because we wouldn’t know his quality of life until he was born, so they were saying maybe it was just best not to continue.

"But I'm a firm believer that we don’t determine the quality of life and there's a reason regardless of health status why were all here and I just I couldn’t.''

Oliver was born on November 30th, 2018 at 10:56 pm by emergency Caesarean section, and he was crying which confirmed he had an airway.

"Shockingly he was 5lb 7oz because he was a month early with no legs!" said Brooke.

"I was really happy to see him, but apparently I told my husband to tell the doctors they don’t have to lie to me, and that he wasn’t that cute!"

Oliver was kept in the NICU for 19 days before going home, as he initially went into respiratory failure and required surgery on a hernia.

Brooke said: "When we did our follow-up appointments we heard a lot of 'never's - Oliver was never supposed to mobilize independently and they didn’t think he would talk.

"They thought he would never be able to drink normally, they thought for sure he'd have a G-tube.

"But it was always followed up with 'we’ll wait and see'."

The tot started with physical therapy when he was about two months old and made progress very quickly.

His mum said: "Oliver started out rolling everywhere, then moved to army-crawling, then scooting upright on his hands.

"Now he moves very quickly on his hands, he actually prefers to be out of his chair most of the time."

Oliver also now has a younger brother, 15-month-old Bradley, and they are the best of friends.

Oliver loves movies, painting, and music, but his absolute favourite activities are outdoors.

He can drive a wheelchair that he got at two, and now is learning to use a communication tablet he received from the non-profit Believe Beyond Ability.

Mum said: "I think the biggest thing I would share is just encouragement to have parents educate your children on kids with disabilities.

"Get them together with families who have kids with needs so they can learn."