A 13-YEAR-OLD schoolgirl with Locked-in syndrome has inspired a GoFundMe appeal to raise £10,000 to buy equipment to enable her to communicate.

Miranda Meldrum, from Westwood, near Bradford on Avon, is recovering from an extremely rare form of brain haemorrhage which struck on April 25 this year.

She woke her mother Dr Stella Meldrum, who is a GP, at 2.30am with a very severe headache and vomiting. Five minutes later she complained that her hearing in her right ear had gone and that her right arm was numb.

Miranda was rushed into hospital, where a CT scan showed that an arterial dissection had occurred in the anterior inferior cerebellar artery, a small distal vessel branch off the Circle of Willis.

It resulted in Miranda suffering from Locked-in syndrome (LIS) – a condition in which a patient is aware but cannot move or communicate verbally due to complete paralysis of nearly all voluntary muscles in the body except for vertical eye movements and blinking.

Miranda can now only communicate by blinking her eyes and nodding. She is still unable to talk or walk. A talented singer, she hopes to recover well enough to be able to sing again.

Her mother said: “The haemorrhage caused damage to Miranda’s brain stem but preserved the upper part of her brain – which is ‘where we are/who we are’.

“She is recovering well and can use her eyes to communicate. At first she blinked her left eye once for ‘yes’, twice for ‘no’ and three times for ‘thank you’. She then started to nod her head, which she prefers to do instead.

“Over the past two weeks, Miranda has started to try to struggle up to get off the bed using the upper part of her body. She is now moving her left arm to wave goodbye and is also moving her right arm a little and both legs more. She is still unable to walk.”

Miranda and her mother have launched the appeal to raise money to buy the equipment she needs. Already, they have raised more than £5,390 thanks to donations from more than 90 people.

Dr Meldrum added: “Miranda needs IT equipment to help her to spell, draw (which she loves), play Minecraft – and communicate again. Speech is a few months away yet – all being well.

“Also, she needs longer-term muscle stimulation and robotics equipment. The strength in her left leg is now back up to normal speed already.”

To donate to Miranda’s appeal, go to https://www.gofundme.com/lis-locked-in-syndrome-aged-13.