A little boy who suddenly began "walking like he was drunk" was diagnosed with a rare, incurable disorder after he was unable to get up after sitting down on the floor.
Rowan Clayton, five, first began having problems walking in November 2020, and soon was no longer able to ride his balance bike or stand up on his own.
His mum Anna, 33, said: "Rowan woke up one morning and had a funny walk, almost like he slept on his leg funny. As the days went by, he started walking like he was drunk almost. He had no control over his legs.
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"He wasn't complaining of any pain. But as the weeks passed, he was unable to stand up from the floor. He wasn't able to kick a ball or ride his balance bike, and we got to the point were we needed to get him to the doctors."
Rowan was sent to the Countess of Chester Hospital for a hip x-ray before being transferred to Alder Hey Children's Hospital, where doctors tried for months to work out the cause of his mobility problems. Eventually, following multiple blood tests and an MRI scan, the youngster was diagnosed with Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP), a neurological disorder which causes weakness and reduced senses in the arms and legs.
Anna said: "The build-up to the diagnosis was really scary because we didn't know what it was. We were hopeful it was just something quite simple, and then when we saw the neuromuscular team at Alder Hey and they diagnosed him, it was really hard to accept and come to terms with. His condition was so rare, we didn't really know what his outlook was."
Rowan, who lives in Ellesmere Port with his mum and dad Anthony, suffers from a recurrent form of CIDP, meaning he goes through episodes of symptoms that can happen at any time.
Anna said: "He can be up and about and fine, and then he can relapse and his muscles will become weak and he struggles to walk. Rowan's relapsed three times now, and the third time was in July 2022.
"This relapse was the worst he's had. It affected his hands, his arms, his legs, and he was unable to use his hands. He couldn't even hold his juice bottle or push the buttons on the TV remote.
"Rowan's care team is amazing and I can't fault them. They're just wonderful. I speak to the psychologist there and she definitely helped me through dark time, it's hard seeing your child go through that. From running, kicking a ball, playing, doing everything a five-year-old does, to not being able to do that.
"Rowan is a very fun, loving, lively character. He is always smiling, always laughing, he's always winding his sisters up. But when he relapses he gets frustrated, he gets angry. The condition can cause him pain so he has to take regular medication, and on his pain days he struggles so much with his anger, because he's so frustrated because he's hurting. He's still so little and so young, he hasn't really got the skills to vocalise exactly how he's feeling."
Rowan, a pupil at Cambridge Road Primary School, relies on a wheelchair to get around during his episodes of CIPD, and has to use an all-terrain toddler pushchair on days out with his family. However, his parents hope to buy him a new all-terrain wheelchair which will allow him more independence while out and about.
A fund-raiser has been set up with the goal of raising £1,000 towards the purchase.
Anna said: "When Rowan has a relapse he relies heavily on his wheelchair because he can't physically walk. But while he's in remission, he still relies on the chair a lot because he he struggles with fatigue and gets tired very quickly.
"CIDP isn't curable, so this is something he will have forever. But as long as he has the right care, the right treatment, the right medication, I think nothing will stop him from doing what he wants to do."
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