A three-year-old girl who doctors thought would never walk is now unstoppable after she took her first steps during lockdown.
Felicity Edgar was starved of oxygen and had to be resuscitated when she was born at Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital in London in April 2017, after delays in giving her mother a caesarean section.
This left Felicity with cerebral palsy, an incurable condition which affects movement and coordination.
Doctors told her devastated parents, Amber Lineham and Adam Edgar, that Felicity may not live.
Mother-of-two Ms. Lineham, 24, a trainee chef from Crayford in south-east London, said:
“The doctors 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."
Doctors later told Ms. Lineham that her daughter would never be able to walk.
But Felicity has proved them wrong after taking her triumphant first steps during lockdown, with the help of a walker.
Ms. Lineham said Felicity had been given a walker previously but was never comfortable using it and had not taken any steps.
During lockdown, Ms. Lineham decided to give it one more go on the way to a sweet shop and to her astonishment Felicity began walking.
“It was the most amazing thing I have ever seen and one of the best moments for me ever," Ms. Lineham said.
“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."
“When Amber Felicity was born we so nearly lost her and after that the doctors said she would never walk or talk."
“But she has proved everybody wrong and she is our own lockdown miracle."
London firm Osbornes Law, which is representing the family, said Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust admitted that care provided for Felicity “fell below the appropriate standard during her mother's labor."
Jodi Newton, a solicitor at Osbornes, said:
“Felicity's determination against all the odds is a truly incredible and inspirational story."
“We had real concerns about Felicity's future, but she managed to take her first steps during lockdown and there's no stopping her now."
Ms. Newton added:
“The trust have made a swift and early interim payment of compensation to assist the family to move into accommodation which is more suitable for Felicity's needs and to pay for a rehabilitation program of extensive therapy."
