Toddler becomes 'newborn baby again' due to mysterious brain condition

A four-year-old toddler develops a rare brain condition called "acute disseminated encephalomyelitis" (ADEM)

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Adrian James, 2, sits up in a bed after spending more than a week on a ventilator in the intensive care unit at Cardinal Glennon Childrens Hospital in St. Louis for a severe case of COVID-19, in Missouri, U.S., October 11, 2021. — Reuters
Adrian James, 2, sits up in a bed after spending more than a week on a ventilator in the intensive care unit at Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital in St. Louis for a severe case of COVID-19, in Missouri, U.S., October 11, 2021. — Reuters

  • Four-year-old toddler develops a rare brain condition.
  • She loses ability to walk, talk, or feed herself.
  • Therapies show improvement but doctors have not assured complete recovery.


A four-year-old girl in Scotland was left with the functioning of a newborn baby due to a rare brain condition, The Daily Record reported.

Little Lexie Forsyth developed a mysterious illness that caused her brain to swell. She lost the ability to walk and talk. 

Distressed, the parents said that this turned their daughter “into a newborn baby again”.

The little girl, however, shocked the doctors with her recovery speed. Doctors have, however, not assured complete recovery.

After two months, Lexie was diagnosed with acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) which is a rare inflammation of the brain.

Lexie took months of physiotherapy and speech therapy and is recovering like a warrior. Doctors are unable to predict anything for her future, however.

Emilia Blanaru, the mother of the toddler said, “We just have to wait and see. One thing – she is stubborn, she never gives up.”