LITTLE Demi Addison is now a bundle of energy, but her parents were left shocked when they discovered eight months after her birth that their daughter had suffered a stroke in her mother’s womb.

The brave youngster, who turns two this week, is thought to have suffered food and oxygen shortages for four weeks as a result of umbilical cord problems in her mother’s womb. The issue meant the oxygen and food supply to her was being cut and her heart rate plummeted as a result.

Medics only noticed she was in trouble when mother Erin, 26, went for a routine check-up when she was eight months pregnant and learned her baby had stopped growing.

The expectant mother from Buckie, Moray, was referred from her local hospital to Dr Gray’s Hospital, in Elgin, where it was a race against time to save the baby.

Just two-and-a-half hours after her mother arrived at the hospital, Demi was born – a month early – weighing 4lb 6oz.

The first-time mother said: “It was a bit of a shock having a baby by the end of the day. But we are lucky I had the appointment when I did. I don’t know what would have happened if it had been the day after. It could have been a totally different story.”

But it was not until Demi was eight months old that Mrs Addison and husband Kevin were told their daughter had suffered a stroke in the womb.

It has left the youngster with a condition called hemiplegia, where one side of her body is weaker than the other.

After the diagnosis, doctors said she would not walk until she was at least two years old.

But Demi proved them wrong and was on her feet before she was 18 months old and, against all odds, the toddler is already on to her next challenge – learning to talk.

Mrs Addison added: “We’re so proud of her. Nothing fazes her and she is so determined.”

Her determination coupled with continuing therapies gives doctors hope that by the time she is eight she will be no different from her peers.

But her parents are all too aware that the outcome could have been very different had Mrs Addison’s ante-natal appointment been even 24 hours later.

Mr Addison plans to cycle the length of the country in nine days next month to thank the charity, Hemihelp, which has helped them through the last year.

He recounts the drama of Erin’s birth, saying: “Her heart rate was becoming more and more unstable. It was going flat and then beating.

“We were waiting for the ambulance to take her to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary but then the consultant came through and said, ‘We don’t have time to take you to Aberdeen’, and 20 minutes later Erin had an emergency caesarean.

“As soon as the cord was removed from Demi’s neck she was breathing on her own.”

He added: “We’ve got to be fortunate that Erin had the appointment when she did, because even [if it had been] the next day, it’s highly unlikely Demi would be here. There were loads of people in the theatre for all eventualities. There must have been 15 to 20 people waiting to see the outcome.” Up until then, Mrs Addison had enjoyed a smooth pregnancy, other than early on the baby being in the breach position, which is not uncommon.

But, at her seven-month check-up, the midwife confirmed the baby had turned herself around. Mrs Addison said: “We think that’s when the cord got tangled around her neck.”

Medics did not discover this until the routine appointment a month later.

Using a tape-measure, the midwife at the local hospital discovered the baby did not appear to have grown in the last four weeks.

At this point there was no immediate concern, and husband Kevin drove his wife the half-hour journey to Elgin, where scans confirmed the cord was wrapped around the baby and compressed in a way that meant her oxygen and food supply was cut off.

Within half an hour of arriving at the hospital, Demi’s heart rate became erratic, making it a race against time to deliver her.

Demi, who weighed 4lb 6oz when she was born on August 17, 2016, instantly began to stabilise after her birth and was home after just 11 days.

But her parents soon noticed their daughter favouring her right side.

Doctors initially thought it was a muscular problem caused by the way she had been lying in the womb but when she was eight months old a physiotherapist recognised signs of hemiplegia, caused by a stroke in the womb.

Her parents are now awaiting the results of an MRI scan to confirm the extent of brain damage caused by the stroke.

However, Mrs Addison said: “She’s cheeky and she has so much energy. She’s just non-stop.”

To donate to Mr Addison’s bike challenge, visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/kevin-addison1