A mum believes her disabled daughter who suffers from a mystery condition will walk again despite having no diagnosis for nearly five years.

Gillingham mum Rachael Swadling's daughter Hallie Spree is nearly five but she has the muscle tone of a two-and-a-half-year-old.

Hallie was born on March 19, 2019 and underwent an operation after she was born at 32 weeks to fix a defect in her artery.

As she grew, she was able to pull up to a standing position, and used to be able to walk holding her mum's hand.

However, this is no longer the case.

Rachael said: “Hallie’s symptoms are all very different and the fact that she went from walking to not walking seems to baffle everyone.

“There was a bit of a delay in her walking and they put it down to global development delay.

“We’ve got no diagnosis still, we’re no further forward than we were a year ago.”

Rachael was told her daughter was born with two valves on one side of her heart.

She says the Evelina London Children's Hospital was supposed to book a scan when Hallie was six months old, but this was never organised.

She has had several issues getting appointments at the hospital and has had six face-to-face ones cancelled.

When she was pregnant, Rachael was told her baby may have to have open heart surgery, but says she was left confused as to why the matter was dismissed, she felt, so quickly.

Hallie was also hospitalised when she was 10 months old after she stopped breathing for 65 seconds.

When Hallie was 18 months old, Rachael managed to get an appointment for her daughter at Snapdragons in Strood, a children and young people’s health and wellbeing centre.

As soon as the consultant looked at her daughter he said she had hypertonia, which means she has too much muscle tone and has trouble moving her muscles as a result.

However, Rachael still has not had a diagnosis for exactly what is happening to her daughter, as hypertonia is a symptom of something else.

She has since had help from Step and Learn, a Medway-based charity dedicated to improving the lives of children with physical disabilities through conductive education, a system specifically developed for children and adults who have motor disorders of neurological origin.

The mum said: “Snapdragons have been the most supportive, along with Step and Learn. They’ve been fantastic.

“We’ve had continuous issues with Hallie’s feet and we feel that is the main thing that’s stopping her from getting into a walker and walking.”

Just before Christmas, Step and Learn carried out serial casting for Hallie, a treatment aimed to help children who walk on their toes.

It works by keeping the calf muscles in a stretched position for a prolonged period.

Rachael explained: “There was so much tension in her Achilles heel that she couldn’t put her foot down properly heel to toe. Her big toe curls under the rest of her toes.

“They wanted to do serial casting so she can start moving her own ankles and it has helped drastic amounts so far.

“She has splints on for at least six hours a day and hopefully that will release the tension in her muscle.”

The pair went to a clinic in Oxford last year and saw a specialist in cerebellum diagnosis, who focuses on looking at why children don’t walk. But, Rachael said, they were unable to help.

She said: “The only people that have been so consistent with us to the point where it’s helped with Hallie’s mobility while sitting on the floor is Step and Learn.

“They have helped enormous amounts.

“She’s about two-and-a-half years old now in regard to her muscle but only in her torso area.

“She’s got a lot more strength in one arm than the other, which is what Step and Learn are helping her with.

“She can’t sit upright and stretch, she’ll just fall forward, because her centre of gravity is different.

“I haven’t given up, because she’s my child and she’s the most important thing to me, but my next steps vary on what happens next.

“Her paediatrician wants to have a look at her hips and her neck because they’re concerned that the amount of times that she drops her head is deteriorating the muscle in her neck more.”

When Rachael tries to get Hallie to stand and kneel, she complains that it hurts so the mum is concerned there are more issues than she initially thought.

“But the reason I’ve not been chasing after people is because she’s happy, that’s all I care about,” she said.

“She’s got an extremely amazing placement at a primary school, she’s got an amazing district team behind her, and my family and friends have been super supportive as well.

“It’s really tough, I take every day as it comes. If I don’t, I struggle because my own mental health does deteriorate.

“It wouldn’t surprise me if anyone in my situation would be exactly the same.

“As a family and as a network we take every day as it comes because otherwise it would be difficult for her.

“I want to make it as easy for her as I possibly can. I do believe she will walk one day, it’s all about perseverance and more muscle gain.

“We just need to figure out a way to allow her to build muscles in her legs.”

A spokesperson for Evelina London Children’s Hospital said: “Hallie continues to be reviewed by our dedicated children’s neurology team, and has undergone further detailed investigations including seeing an international expert at a specialist clinical genetics team to try and identify the root cause of her condition.

“We understand this is a difficult time for Hallie’s family, and we will continue to support them alongside her local paediatric services.”