A LITTLE girl has made a remarkable recovery from a mystery illness after doctors gave her only a 10 per cent chance of walking, talking and seeing again.
Summer Craney was only two when she lost her sight, speech, hearing and ability to walk after an attack on her immune system.
Initially, doctors thought the virus was only a bout of gastroenteritis.
Her GP sent Summer home after mother Shannon Craney, 21, took her to an appointment in May last year but the youngster’s condition quickly deteriorated.
Ms Craney took her back to the GP only two days later and was referred to the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Glasgow.
She was again sent home and told it was nothing more than a severe stomach upset.
But the next day, Summer collapsed and was rushed to Accident and Emergency at the Royal Hospital for Children.
Ms Craney, from Glasgow, said: “I could see her getting worse by the day.
“She had dark red bags under her eyes, she wasn’t sitting up to be sick and wasn’t able to hold any medicine down.
“When I stood her up to get ready to go the hospital she kept hitting the floor without making any noise.
“When we took her to Yorkhill Hospital, there were five doctors standing around her putting the wires into her.
“She wasn’t responding to the clicking of fingers and her pupils weren’t dilating. For three weeks, all she could see was shadows and she couldn’t hear a thing.”
“The doctors said there was a 90 per cent chance that she would not be able to walk, see or speak again.
After her brain began to swell, Summer lost the ability to sit, stand up or walk. She was then unable to see, speak and hear.
Three weeks after she was first admitted to hospital, Summer was allowed to continue her recovery at home. Now aged four, she is able to walk short distances again.
But 18 months on from when the virus struck, doctors have no answers about what happened to her.
Former nursery nurse Shannon added: “To parents who think their child is sick: go to the doctor. We thought Summer had a sickness bug, what she did have could have killed her.
Consultants sent blood tests to an analysis facility at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee, which came back clear.
Ms Craney and Summer’s father Graham Keltie, 20, underwent tests, which also ruled out a genetic cause.
Ms Craney added: “I’m worried it could resurface. She’s, thankfully, not been sick since but I hope whatever it was has now gone.”
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