But her parents said they are having to come to terms with the possible consequences of a catalogue of medical problems to beset her since April.

Doctors have told Roy and Deborah while the 20-month-old from Orrell is in less danger than a few weeks ago, in the long term she will be lucky to walk and talk and her lifespan could be limited to 15 years.
Roy said it has been hard to face up to the harsh reality.

But gradually he and his wife have come to accept new goals and priorities for their daughter, and resist comparing her with similar-aged children who have not endured her medical problems.

Before April this year Jessica was developing normally but was then struck down by a virus which usually has little effect on patients but in her case caused heart failure.

She ended up on a new life support machine called a Berlin Heart in the Freeman Hospital, Newcastle.
But while the device was keeping her heart going it was also creating clots which caused 100 strokes.

These strokes may have left her with a number of long-term disabilities including moderate to severe brain damage.

Doctors took the risk of removing the Berlin Heart to minimise further strokes and to their delight her own heart began beating on its own.
She was well enough to be transferred to Manchester and, after being taken off her ventilator, has now been moved again to Wigan Infirmary.

One of her main problems is difficulty swallowing and a habit of regurgitating food although she is still gaining weight.

One of the biggest dangers is as Jessica can't swallow fragments of regurgitated food could get into her lungs and cause life-threatening infections.

She is currently fed via a feeding tube through her nose, although doctors have considered a tracheotomy, inserting the tube through the throat.

But the likeliest option now is she will undergo a gastrostomy – inserting a feeding tube directly into the stomach – to minimise the risk of chest infection.

From the way Jessica reacts to voices and names it appears the strokes have not robbed her of her sight after all.
She is now well enough to be taken for walks around the hospital grounds in her buggy.

Roy said: "We are coming to terms with a new outlook on life and Jessica's progress.
"You have to change targets and priorities and there is no use saying 'by now she might be walking and talking' because doctors say she will be lucky if she ever does.

"But we have thought on several occasions that we were going to lose her and she has proved to be a fighter. Now it is a big achievement for her if she smiles.

"It upset me when the doctors said about her 15-year life span, but we are coming to terms with having a disabled daughter.
"We are certainly not giving up on her because she has not given up on us."