PARENTS of a “bright and determined” two-year-old with cerebral palsy are pinning their hopes on a £50,000 operation which could see her running around and playing like any other toddler.

Lucy and Phil Hood from Alderholt were |devastated to be told in April that little Mellissa had the condition after Mrs Hood had a difficult pregnancy and gave birth nine weeks prematurely.

“When I was told, it was like I had run into a brick wall at 60 miles an hour,” said Mrs Hood, 24.

“But I’m not the sort of person to just sit there. I found another parent online whose daughter had had specialist surgery that night and, as soon as I looked into this surgery, selective dorsal rhizotomy, I knew it could help Missy.”

The surgery has been undertaken in America for 22 years on children aged from two. But in the UK, as it quite new and due to funding issues, it is not usually carried out until a child is at least four or, more often, six years old.

It involves highly-skilled work on the nerves in the spine but, says Mrs Hood, “has amazing results”.

She said: “I am totally focused on doing this for my little girl because she is very, very bright and|q so determined and she deserves this chance. It’s her frustration which is the most upsetting. She thinks she is a normal child, and tries to pull herself up and falls and hits her head.

“She is too small to benefit from the walking frames and botox offered by the NHS - she can’t hold herself up well enough.

“But with this operation, she could walk on flat feet instead of up on her toes and it would be life-changing.”

Helped by the team at Salisbury District Hospital where Mellissa was born, Mrs Hood has sent footage of Mellissa’s movement to St Louis Children’s Hospital in Missouri, and the clinical team there has written back to say the tot would be an ideal candidate.

Former Ringwood School pupil Mrs Hood said: “Some people say I should wait until the NHS could do it but, by then, Missy will be starting school and this would hold her back when she will be different anyway and have enough to deal with.

“If we do this now, it will be so much better as she can have daily physio and recover before starting school, and also the tension in the muscles of her legs won’t be as ingrained as if she waits a few years longer.

“I know we can do this; already people have promised to organise events to raise money and we raised £870 in our first weekend.

“Other parents in this situation have raised the money within three months, and I believe we can do the same.”

A black tie event is being organised by Mellissa’s pre-school, Kingswood, at the White Hart Hotel in Salisbury in November, and Mr Hood, 27, a carpenter at Poole’s Sunseeker boat builders, is going to take on The Three Peaks Challenge in October.

To get involved in the fundraising, or to donate, go to missysfutureappeal.org or call Mrs Hood on 07769 712573.