Sophie McKeown is one of about 2,000 people in Northern Ireland living with the long-term effects of a traumatic brain injury.
The two-year-old boy from County Tyrone contracted the virus as a child. It caused an autoimmune response that caused her brain to become inflamed.
Her mother, Fiona, said she knew little about the brain injury she suffered prior to Sophie’s incident.
Fiona told BBC News NI: “She’s not yet able to talk, but she’s just started to walk, which is an important milestone.
A new book is helping families like Sophie raise awareness and help others understand more about brain injury.
Rua’s Sore Head tells the story of one of Santa’s reindeer who suffers a traumatic brain injury.
It was written by a Fermanagh County woman, Sarah Moon, whose son also suffered a traumatic brain injury.
She said: “We all love having characters to relate to and I thought it would be great if a kid like mine had a character to relate to.
“One person went through the same thing but it came out in a different light.”
The Brain Injury Matters charity received money from the National Lottery Community Foundation to create the book, which will go to schools across NI.
Video journalist: Niall McCracken
