Sweet dreams do come true!
Girl proves doctors wrong by walking
A TODDLER who doctors thought would never be able to walk is now unstoppable after taking her first steps during a lockdown visit to a sweet shop.
Felicity Edgar, three, was starved of oxygen and had to be resuscitated when she was born after alleged delays in treating her mother Amber Lineham, who had a caesarean section.
The little girl was left with cerebral palsy, an incurable condition which affects movement and co-ordination – with doctors at Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospital in London fearing she may not live.
Amber, 24, a trainee chef from Crayford in south-east London, said: “They said she probably wouldn’t make it through the night, so we had her christened that day. But she’s a fighter – and she survived.”
Delighted
Medics, after the birth in April 2017, then told Amber and her partner Adam Edgar that their daughter would never be able to walk.
But Felicity has proved them wrong, taking her triumphant first steps during lockdown with the help of a walker. The girl had been given the aid previously but she never seemed comfortable using it.
But Amber, who also has an 11-monthold daughter Kalila, decided to give the device one more go on the way to a sweet shop – and to her astonishment Felicity began walking.
The delighted mother said: “It was the most amazing thing I have ever seen and one of the best moments for me ever.
“She has done this against the odds and it makes me so proud.
“Now we can’t stop her and she is always getting her shoes to tell us she wants to go for a walk – it has cost us a lot in sweets. She has proved everybody wrong – she is our lockdown miracle.” London firm Osbornes Law, which is representing the family, said that Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust had admitted that the care that was provided for Felicity “fell below the appropriate standard during her mother’s labour”.
The family have been compensated. Jodi Newton, a solicitor with the London legal firm, added: “Felicity’s determination against all the odds is a truly incredible and inspirational story.
“We had real concerns about her future, but she managed to take her first steps during lockdown and there’s no stopping her now.”
Felicity Edgar, whose troubled birth left her with cerebral palsy, can get around using a walker. Top left, with sister Kalila