Doctors warn against conceiving as it could accelerate her deterioration

She is desperate to have a baby before the disease robs her of her mobility

A woman is desperately trying to have a baby before a cruel genetic disease turns her into a human statue.

Rachel Winnard, 31, suffers from rare disease Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva (FOP) - which causes her muscles, tendons and ligaments to turn into bone at the slightest knock.

The debilitating genetic condition, which affects just one in two million people worldwide, means she is effectively growing a second skeleton and will become slowly imprisoned in her own body.

She met the love of her life Paul, 34, in 2008, and proposed to him within six months, so she could still walk down the aisle at their wedding.

Now four years on, the couple are desperate for a baby to complete their family - but are in a race against time before Mrs Winnard's condition deteriorates.

Rachel Winnard, 31, has rare illness Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva, a debilitating disease which causes her muscles, tendons and ligaments to turn into bone at the slightest knock

Mrs Winnard met the love of her life Paul, 34, in 2008, and proposed to him within six months, so she could still walk down the aisle at their wedding (pictured)

Mrs Winnard was first diagnosed with FOP at the age of 12 after doctors had initially believed lumps on her back were benign tumours (pictured left). Now, her back has stopped bending (pictured right)

Mrs Winnard, from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, said: 'At the minute all I want is a baby.

'Doctors told me not to have a baby, but I don't let anybody tell me what to do.

'All I want now is a baby, and the thought of that helps me get through the hard times. I'm not bothered if it's a boy or a girl, as long as it's happy and healthy.

'Just to have one baby would be amazing but if I could, I'd love two - Paul wants a boy and a girl, we can never agree on names though.'

Mr and Mrs Winnard defied doctors' advice, despite the extra risk pregnancy can pose to FOP sufferers - where the smallest injury can cause a flare-up, causing bone to grow where muscle and tissue should be.

Doctors have also warned her that if she has a baby naturally, there is a 50 per cent chance it could inherit the gene mutation which causes FOP.

Mrs Winnard fell pregnant in 2009, but was devastated when she miscarried.

While they have continued trying to conceive, the couple are now looking into surrogacy, as pregnancy could accelerate her deterioration.

However, Mrs Winnard insists that if she does fall pregnant, she will keep her baby - despite the dangers involved.

THE CRUEL GENETIC CONDITION THAT TURNS SUFFERERS INTO STONE Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP) is a rare genetic disorder where muscle and other tissues such as ligaments are gradually replaced by bone. This limits movement of the body over time, usually starting with the neck and progressing down the body. An accident, a knock, surgery or a virus such as the flu can cause flare-ups of the disease. Symptoms don't usually develop until a child is a few years old, but sufferers may be born with malformed big toes. It affects up to two million cases worldwide. There is no cure for the condition and most people with it die by the age of 40. Source: National Institutes of Health Advertisement

She said: 'I would love to carry my own baby, as would any woman, but in reality it would be a really bad idea - that's why we've talked about surrogacy.

'When I fell pregnant in 2009 doctors told me to get rid of it, but I wanted it so badly and I was stubborn.

'When I miscarried I was absolutely devastated, it was awful.

'But it just made me want a baby even more.

'Doctors are totally against me having a baby, as it is a big risk.

'If I do fall pregnant naturally I would keep it and take the risk, I'm so desperate for a baby to complete our perfect family.

'There are advantages to surrogacy though - it's less of a risk for me, and they can also work out which eggs carry the FOP gene to make sure it's not passed on to the baby.

'FOP can be a struggle, and as time goes on I'm becoming more and more restricted - I'm becoming trapped in my own body.'

Mrs Winnard was just 19 months old when she started getting lumps on her back, and medics diagnosed her with benign tumours and treated her with chemotherapy.

But when she was nine years old, she was playing on a swing which banged her back - and the lumps flared up again.

Baffled doctors still thought she just had benign tumours and treated her with more chemo and radiotherapy.

By the time she was 12, doctors were finally able to diagnose her with FOP - thanks to a missing bone in her big toe, a tell-tale sign of the rare disease.

Mrs Winnard was just 19 months old when she started getting lumps on her back, and medics diagnosed her with benign tumours and treated her with chemotherapy (left). She is pictured as a young girl (right)

Mrs Winnard married her husband Paul on October 9 2013. Now, the couple are desperate to start a family

Mrs Winnard, whose husband Paul is her full-time carer, said: 'It took so long to diagnose because it's so rare.

'But I tried not to let it hold me back.

'Doctors are always telling me not to do things but I do them anyway - I'm very stubborn.

'Three years ago my left hip locked, and from there it's progressed quite rapidly.'

Now, she can't move her neck on its own, instead she has to turn her whole body.

Doctors told me not to have a baby, but I don't let anybody tell me what to do Rachel Winnard, 31

Her back has also stopped bending.

She continued: 'My feet are frozen and I can't put them flat on the floor, so I have to wear heels all the time, and I can't lift my arms up very far.

'So there will definitely be challenges when I have a baby - Paul and my family are so great though and such a strong support network, so I know I would be able to do it.

'Everything I've been through has just made me all the more determined to have my baby as soon as possible.'

Professor James Triffitt, an expert in bone metabolism at the University of Oxford, has known Mrs Winnard for many years and is familiar with her condition.

Professor Triffitt said: 'FOP is a rare and progressively disabling condition caused by formation of bony bars within skeletal muscles, ligaments and tendons.

'Everything I've been through has just made me all the more determined to have my baby as soon as possible,' Mrs Winnard said. She is pictured with husband Paul, who she says wants a boy and a girl

'The bone formation is usually first noticed in early childhood following isolated flare ups of inflammatory swellings that resolve into hard lumps in the neck or along the spine - although in Rachel's case, this was initially misdiagnosed.

'Rachel is one of the most happy and resilient people I know - she never lets her progressive severe disability affect her life in any way.

'When she married Paul she yearned to have a family of her own. Sadly, because of her condition, this would be a life-threatening event.

'Rachel and and her husband are now investigating the possibility of pre-implantation genetic diagnosis and in vitro fertilisation.

'These procedures are not without risk themselves but if possible and by using a surrogate it could be feasible for Paul and Rachel to have a non-affected child.