A mum's common cold-like virus she picked up during pregnancy left her child unable to walk or talk.
Adrienne Shone, from Bussage, Gloucestershire, gave birth to daughter Eva ten years ago this month.
The 45-year-old thought she was simply a little under the weather after some flu-like symptoms seven months before her baby arrived in June 2011.
The virus turned out to be cytpmegalovirusm, also known as CMV, and it caused Eva to be born with disabilities as it attacks the nervous system during pregnancy.
She was then diagnosed with cerebral palsy, a lifelong conditions that affect movement and co-ordination, affects her arms and legs.
A decade on, Eva's mum told GloucestershireLive about the the impact it had on the family.
She said: “I picked up the virus when I was pregnant. I was later told the virus had attacked her brain whilst it was growing and developing during pregnancy.
“I noticed there were problems with Eva as she failed to progress putting on weight as a baby.
“I had her in the June and she weighed six pounds nine ounces. Her older siblings weighed more when they were born however nothing was picked up when she was born.
Eva cried a lot and did not feed well and in the health visitors book it was noted she was ‘failing to thrive’.
“In the September when she was three months old the results of the heal prick test showed in the blood results she had congenital CMV.”
Ten-year-old Eva is unable to walk or sit up so she is a full-time wheelchair user.
She is fed through a tube and is unable to talk, but despite this, often has a big smile and laughs.
Her mum added: “When realising how the virus had affected Eva, it was really upsetting. I wanted a big family and we have had a big family, but it was such a shock knowing she would be severely disabled.
“It was like I was grieving for her. I had never heard of CMV before or how to prevent it.
“Many of the children born with CMV are deaf and blind. Eva understands me and she finds it difficult to communicate but me and her dad understand her.
“We have had the house adapted now for her so downstairs she has her bedroom and wet room with a hoist.
“Eva got too big to be lifted in and out of her car seat so now we have a wheelchair adapted car.”
The CMV Action website is campaigning for awareness of the virus in pregnant mothers and how to prevent the virus impacting unborn babies.
The website states: “Although CMV is a common virus world-wide and which most people in the UK will catch, few have heard of it.
“Producing probably nothing more than mild cold-like symptoms, most healthy adults will not even realise they have it.
“However, if a pregnant woman catches the virus, especially just before conception or during her first trimester, it can be passed to her unborn baby (known as congenital CMV) and may cause miscarriage or stillbirth, or other serious damage to the fetus.”
The website is campaigning during June so more information can to be given to pregnant mothers about the virus.
