'Miracle' girl walks again after rare brain disease

The father of a girl with a rare brain disease has said her recovery has been "incredible" after she regained the ability to walk again.

Sienna, four, was diagnosed with acute necrotising encephalitis (ANE) - a disease which causes the brain to swell - after becoming ill on holiday with her family in November.

Her parents were told to "prepare for the worst" after the condition saw her lose the ability to walk, eat and talk.

Her dad Gary Dunion, who has been supported by fundraising from the community in Market Harborough, Leicestershire, said she has had a "remarkable recovery".

Gary said Sienna spent five weeks in the intensive care unit (ICU) at Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham after becoming unwell in November.

He said he was told by doctors that it was likely that his daughter would not recognise him when she woke up, but by the time she left the unit, Sienna was increasingly alert and had started to communicate.

"We had some very intense times in hospital for weeks and weeks," he said.

"We didn't know how much of Sienna would be there.

"She was communicating by pressing a button and was being fed via an IV tube."

However, four weeks after leaving the ICU, Sienna started to talk and eat basic foods, a feat doctors have described to Gary as an "absolute miracle".

"She started talking a little bit and said 'I want mum', so we had something there to work with which was insane," he said.

"On her 100th day in hospital, when we were discharged, she was walking with a frame and was signed off with her eating so she could eat anything.

"She remembers everything.

"She remembers holidays, she remembers Christmases, she remembers everything about her life."

Gary said there was still more to do to support his daughter.

"She's still very wobbly, she's still very delayed with her speech and there's still a lot we need to work with.

"But, as we stand today, she's walking unsupported for a considerable amount of time.

"She's cognitively all there, she's speaking in complex sentences and she's playing with her sister like she was before December," he added.

Gary said he has been in touch with families from across the world with children who have had ANE.

"She is one of only two children with ANE who have got the ability to walk back to this level," he said.

"My biggest fear was that we'd never hear her infectious belly laugh again and now it's back and it's back in abundance.

"We would have taken just 5% of what we've gotten back with Sienna."

Despite receiving worldwide support, Gary said it was the support of his local community which has provided the family with the most comfort.

His former football team Harborough Town helped raise £50,000 in just 12 hours for his family, alongside the community in Harborough, which was used to fund specialist treatment for Sienna.

"When we really needed it the most, Harborough stepped up.

"It's really shown the power of communities coming together," Gary said.

"Yes, it's the fundraising, which has been absolutely fundamental for where Sienna is now, but also the level of support.

"The messages meant so much to us.

"Harborough have been amazing and the whole community is continuing to rally around us."

The fundraising page has now raised more than £140,000, which will be used to fund things Sienna needs to recover further such as physiotherapy, specialist neurological rehabilitation treatment and home equipment.

Such is Sienna's progress that she led a walk alongside her father which was raising money for local children and their families struggling with cancer treatment around Priors Hall Amphitheatre in Corby on Saturday.

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