A disabled toddler is defying the odds by taking part in this year’s Glenrothes Road Running Festival.
Two-year-old Jessica Lessells was never expected to walk, talk or even sit up unaided due to a rare brain condition.
However, the determined tot will prove everyone wrong on Sunday when she makes her way round the 300 metre junior track event with mum Karen Lowden.
Cheered on by dad Mark, 41, and big brothers Jake, 16, and Joshua, 10, it could take her up to 45 minutes to complete the course with the help of a walking frame.
But while Jessica will finish way behind all of the other competitors, she will still be a winner in the eyes of her proud family.
Her remarkable achievement will be made even more special by the fact she is raising money for the Forth Child Development Centre in Glenrothes, which has helped to transform her life.
Jessica was just eight months old when she was diagnosed with dysgenesis of the corpus callosum, which means the piece of her brain that sends messages from one side to the other does not work properly.
Karen, 39, said: “When we went to the hospital we were told very matter of factly all the things Jessica would never do.
“They said she would never walk, talk, interact normally with her family or have any understanding of the world around her.
“They said she would be able to lie but not sit. Then we had to walk out the door and there was no support or anything for us.”
A few weeks later Karen was shopping in Asda and noticed that one of the store’s nominated charities was the Forth Child Development Centre, which provides specialist help for very young children with disabilities.
“I phoned them and asked if they knew what I should do next and it just so happened I’d gone to the right place,” she said. “We were able to refer Jessica ourselves and, thanks to all the brilliant professionals there, she is now a lot further forward than we ever expected her to be.”
Karen, who works in the offices of John Deere Tractors in Kinglassie, said Jessica was confounding doctors in other ways too.
“They said she would never be able to communicate but she’s trying to talk and is starting to use sign language.
“It might take Jessica longer to finish on Sunday but she is absolutely determined that she will cross the finishing line.”
Anyone wishing to sponsor Jessica can email Karen at karstar@hotmail.co.uk.