A TODDLER who helped her mum learn to walk again after suffering from a stroke has been celebrated by the Stroke Association.

Serena was just 15 months old when mum Rachel Inglefield suffered a stroke, 11 days after giving birth to her second child Jamie in 2012.

Together, the toddler and mum learned to walk together, Serena for the first time, and Mrs Inglefield for the second.

Speaking about daughter Serena, Mrs Inglefield said: “A new born baby can be cared for by anyone but she needed me. At 15 month old it’s such a wonderful time for a child and that really helped me recover.

“She is quite protective of me and she has a bigger awareness of health issues than a normal six year old

“She is aware when I am having a bad day, she is sensitive about it and she has an awareness about what happened to me. Although we have tried to shield her from it, we are still quite an open family.

“I am very proud of her.”

Now aged six, Serena has been applauded by the Stroke Association by being invited to read a lesson at their annual Christmas carol service in London.

Others readers include Chris Tarrant who had a stroke on board a plane in 2014 while travelling from Thailand to London.

Serena lives in Ogbourne St George with her mother, father Edward and brother Jamie, now five.

Mrs Inglefield has already raised over £30,000 for the Stroke Association by walking half a mile in May 2012, 7.5 miles a year later and was made the charity’s Fundraiser of the Year in 2013.

She added: “Five years is a big milestone in terms of stroke recovery. There is a perception that strokes only happen to old people but they happen to children and young people too.

“I was only 38 and I never though it would happen to me.

The carol service is on December 1 in the Holy Trinity Church, Sloane Square, London.