A three-year-old suffered a stroke while on holiday in North Wales after the chicken pox virus narrowed an artery in her neck.
Little Lottie Evans was enjoying a caravan break with family and friends in Abersoch when she became clumsy and unable to walk.
Her parents rushed her to Ysbyty Gwynedd where medics initially thought she had Bell's Palsy.
But further tests discovered that she had suffered a stroke and believed she may never walk or talk again.
Her mum, Claire Marriott said: "At the time we didn’t think it was a stroke because most people don’t think that children can have strokes.
"We asked if she would recover and they told us that she probably wouldn’t, which was devastating.
"Lottie could not walk or speak and had lost the use of the whole of her right side.
"We were told that the doctors (at Ysbyty Gwynedd) had only ever known about one case where the person fully recovered."
Claire explained that it was 2016 when Lottie had started to appear clumsy and dropped around four drinks before becoming irritable and quiet.
She wouldn't eat and would not sit still and was sliding off chairs on to the floor.
Her parents thought she might be tired so put her in her buggy for a sleep but when she woke, she fell over and was unable to speak so they took her to the Bangor hospital.
Several CT scans revealed Lottie had suffered a stroke, which happens when the blood supply to the brain is cut off, caused by a clot or bleeding in the brain.
Lottie was then transferred to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool the following day, where her prognosis appeared brighter.
After two weeks of being an inpatient, Lottie's parents were told that she should make a full recovery within two years.
Claire added: "At that point, we were given a ray of light. Lottie had so many tests during her time at Alder Hey but she improved every day.
"Doctors believe the stroke was caused by chicken pox, which had narrowed an artery in Lottie’s neck when she had the virus three months earlier."
Now aged five, Lottie from Warrington, Cheshire, is close to making a full recovery after lots of support with physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and speech and language therapy.
But after a routine MRI scan in January 2018, Lottie's parents were informed that she had suffered a further stroke. Fortunately there are no lasting effects but the family are awaiting the results of tests to determine the cause.
Meanwhile, they have set up their own charity, Lottie's Way, to raise awareness of childhood stroke.
Claire said: "Despite everything that has happened we consider ourselves blessed, many parents don’t get to take their children home from hospital after a pediatric stroke and tragically around the world stroke is currently one of the top 10 causes of death in children.
"As a parent and being faced with uncertainty of what the future will hold and many questions I turned to Google for some support – what I found is that there is no UK support groups currently available for children and so I have found myself with many questions still unanswered.
"I would like to get Lottie’s story out to give other parents the hope that although a child suffers a pediatric stroke, there is sometimes a positive outcome in the hope that we can give another parent who goes through what we have a bit of support and positivity, which is not what is currently available.
"Alder Hey have been amazing and have gone the extra mile for Lottie and if it was not for the amazing care she has had and continues to receive we as a family would not be as hopeful as we are today."
Last month, Lottie was commended for her courage after being nominated for a Life After Stroke Award.
Chris Larkin, director for the Stroke Association in the north, said: “A stroke happens in an instant and often changes lives forever.
"Our regional event highlights the tremendous courage people like Lottie have shown in rebuilding their lives after a stroke, or in helping others to do the same.”
For more information about Lottie's Way, click here or www.stroke.org.uk
