The girl who went to bed normal... and woke up paralysed by a rare condition

Today, she faces a lifetime in a wheelchair after a rare condition struck, leaving her paralysed.

The problems began one evening after the bar manager returned from a night out with friends. She went to bed as usual but was woken by terrible chest pains.

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Miss Underwood was taken to hospital where doctors found that she had dangerously low blood pressure. They fought to stabilise her.

But tests revealed that a weak blood vessel in her spinal cord had burst. It had damaged major nerves, which in turn blocked the signals from her brain and paralysed her.

She was in hospital for months - but specialists told her she should prepare herself to spend the rest of her life in a wheelchair.

"How do you cope with the shock of going to bed without a care in the world, only to wake up to be told you'll never walk again?" Miss Underwood said.

However, she has one hope. It is thought that stem cell treatment might regenerate the damaged nerves and help her reach her goal of walking again.

"I was in rehabilitation for six months, which was really tough."

But she added: "I am determined. The alternative just doesn't bear thinking about. Stem cells are my only hope."

The treatment, which costs up to £30,000, is only available privately in China or South America. It involves injections of stem cells taken from a newborn's umbilical cord - these "master cells" are capable of turning into different types of cell and tissue.

It is hoped the stem cells will help regenerate Miss Underwood's damaged nerves. She has already regained the use of her upper body.

"My sensory nerves are fine, so I can feel my legs, but the motor signals will not travel down the spinal cord.

"It was caused by a weak blood vessel which I'd been living with unwittingly for 25 years."

Aneurysms in the spine are rare, especially among the young. There are only a handful of cases in the UK each year.

A series of fundraising nights have been planned to help raise money for the therapy.

Miss Underwood, of Dukinfield, Manchester, who has three sisters and a brother, lives with her parents Ann, 58, a care worker, and Rick, 53, a countryside warden.

Her mother said: "She has researched stem cell treatment thoroughly and spoken to specialists at length.

"We simply have to raise the money."

A number of stem cell therapies-already exist, particularly bone marrow transplants for patients with certain types of leukaemia.

Research is under way to find out which other conditions could be helped by this therapy.

Scientists believe spinal cord injuries could benefit. But it may be ten or 15 years before stem cell therapies become a routine part of medicine.

Although therapy for spinal injuries is offered in South America and China, there is some scepticism over the efficacy of researchers' claims.