The parents of a four-year-old girl have said that a mystery brain condition has left her "like a newborn baby again".
Lexie Forsyth from Inverness is like any other toddler and loves to play with her friends, but seven months ago she began developing a mystery illness.
The condition has caused her brain to swell, which has left her unable to talk, walk, or to feed herself, the Daily Record Daily Record reports.
Her parents Emilia Blanaru and Mark Forsyth, who have separated, have even described the devastating illness as rendering their daughter "a new born baby again".
Nonetheless, tough Lexie has fought back against the condition, following months of therapy and a staggering 117 days in hospital.
She has astounded medics and is now able to make the 10-minute walk to nursery – something her parents feared might never happen.
Doctors are unable to say whether she will make a full recovery and she still uses a wheelchair for long distances.
But Emilia said: “Like a baby, she had to learn everything from the beginning again. We had to lift her up, she couldn’t walk, or sit, or feed herself.
"We had to put her in nappies again.
“But she never gave up. We just take it little by little each day.”
Lexie, who lives with her mum and brother Daniel, two, in Inverness, has been crowned Brave Child of the Year at a Highland Heroes awards ceremony.
Her proud gran, Alison Canavan, nominated her after watching Lexie fight every obstacle with her infectious smile.
Emilia said: “She is a happy girl and she is always smiling.”
The family’s ordeal began when Lexie fell ill last summer, and started vomiting and having seizures.
Doctors initially put her symptoms down to a viral infection but her condition worsened and she fell into a coma for seven days.
After two months, they confirmed Lexie had been hit by a rare inflammation of the brain called acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM).
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Mark, from Thurso, Caithness, said: “The way they explained it, her body was fighting the virus and accidentally attacked her brain.”
Lexie had months of speech therapy and physiotherapy. She was able to walk unaided after four months and is excited to be back at nursery. But doctors are unable to say what the future holds.
Emilia added: “We just have to wait and see. One thing – she is stubborn, she never gives up.”
