A little girl has achieved her Christmas goal of walking into Santa’s grotto after her family feared she would always be in a wheelchair.
Yasmin Roper, four, from Worthing, spent her first Christmas in hospital having just been diagnosed with cancer and was given less than a five per cent chance of survival.
It was thought a spinal cord injury related to the tumour meant she would never be able to walk.
A year ago she was in a wheelchair - but this year she managed to walk in to see Santa unaided.
“It is a Christmas miracle. I cannot believe how much difference a year has made,” said her delighted mother Jessica.
She said Yasmin’s cancer diagnosis back in 2018 came as a “complete shock”.
Jessica said: “My pregnancy scans hadn’t shown anything abnormal but a couple of weeks after her birth I felt something wasn’t quite right as Yasmin was barely moving her legs.
“By the time she was diagnosed, doctors had found a tumour almost 600mls in volume which had infiltrated her spine, causing the spinal cord injury. Yasmin weighed only six kilos – it didn’t seem possible.”
A self-confessed optimist, Jessica was reluctant to accept the scary statistics put to her by the doctors.
She said: “I have always said never say never.
“Why do they have to label things in such a way? I understand they had to give me a worst-case scenario but in the beginning I just wanted people to give me some hope.”
Jessica said Yasmin has always been very confident and “knows her own mind”.
“It is strange to realise I am parenting a version of myself,” she said.
Jessica recalled the first moments when her daughter began letting go and taking steps on her own.
“Yasmin had just done six weeks of chemotherapy and we had been pumpkin picking,” said Jessica.
“She is so determined and independent and to see her walking on her own was just amazing.”
Although Yasmin’s spinal cord injury was acutely serious, the cancer had to be treated first so Yasmin didn’t reach the specialist spinal cord injury team at Stoke Mandeville until June 2020.
Despite their best efforts at Stoke Mandeville, Jessica still faced the devastating scenario that Yasmin would be in a wheelchair for the rest of her life.
Jessica looked for any help to improve Yasmin’s mobility and strength and discovered the Neurokinex Kids’ spinal rehabilitation work.
When Yasmin started at Neurokinex Kids in July 2020 she had very little muscle tone, a weak core section and was unable to weight bear on her legs for any length of time.
“She couldn’t really do anything independently,” said Jessica.
“Neurokinex has changed all that. They have given Yasmin back her core strength, muscle tone and control.”
Now, Yasmin can bear her own weight and take independent steps, stand for five or six minutes without holding on to anything and is able to get around and play independently.
The determined youngster decided she wanted to be able to walk unaided to see Santa.
Jessica said: “Once she sets her mind to something, she does it.
“It’s hard to put into words how I felt seeing her walk to Santa. It was so lovely.”
Yasmin was really excited to meet Father Christmas and recalled how he had brought presents and snow the previous year.
“She is such a character,” Jessica said. “It was quite spectacular to see her tell Santa he will have to take his boots off when he comes to our house on Christmas Eve.”
Yasmin met Santa at John Lewis in Horsham.
Jack Howe, branch manager, said: “As soon as we heard Yasmin’s story, we knew we had to do whatever we could to make this a truly magical moment for her.
“To see the smile on Yasmin’s face when she turned the corner and walked into Santa’s grotto all by herself for the first time is something I will never forget and hopefully she won’t either."
Jessica, a paediatric nurse and single mother, said she and Yasmin have a special bond.
“It’s just the two of us,” she said.
“Yasmin takes everything in her stride. Recently she has been outsmarting me.
“She runs rings round me, especially now she is more mobile.
“Yasmin always finds her own way of doing things and is such a problem solver.”
Yasmin, who has been at a nursery in Goring for two years, will be starting school next year.
“Her nursery is really amazing. They are excellent at meeting her needs and pushing her.
“They don’t just keep her in the chair all the time,” said Jessica.
Reflecting on the past year, Jessica said it has been “crazy.”
“We started with her fourth birthday in Disneyland and to end the year with this is just wonderful."
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