A young girl was left almost housebound because she suffers an allergic reaction to hot and cold weather – and can only venture out when it's mild.
Bethany Bell was born with a chromosome disorder known as 1q4 deletion which means she becomes ill if her body temperature fluctuates.
It means the family of the nine-year-old, from Bestwood Park, Nottingham, have had to avoid taking the youngster out on sunny or chilly days. When the youngster was born, her head grew at a rapid rate. She underwent two operations on her brain at just four weeks old and her head hasn't grown properly since she was three months.
At Mrs Bell's 20-week pregnancy scan, it was discovered that she had hydrocephalus, a build-up of fluid on the brain. The baby was given a 50 per cent chance of being born with disabilities.
Her parents were warned that she would need surgery soon after birth because the excess fluid puts pressure on the brain, which can damage it. For the first three months of her life, she was constantly in and out of hospital. By the time she was six months old, Bethany had stopped feeding orally and had to be fed through a nasal tube.
Mrs Bell said: 'From six months on, Bethany wasn't crawling, walking, talking or feeding.