After battling for her life, bubbly Brooke Gould celebrated her second birthday yesterday. But the greatest present of all would have been taking her first steps. She is desperate to walk, but suffers from cerebral palsy, a muscle-wasting condition.

Recently, her mum and dad were thrilled when Brooke's physiotherapist organised for her to be given a trial demonstration of a five-wheeled Gait Master walker from the US, which has been developed to help children with conditions such as Brooke's to get about, while strengthening their muscles at the same time.

Her father, John, of Salix Road, Hampton, Peterborough, said: "It was amazing. She absolutely loved it and was basically walking.

"In the short time she used it you could see how it would help give her the independence she desperately seeks."

But there was a snag that left John and Brooke's mum Lisa Wright devastated. They say they were told that NHS Peterborough would not stump up £2,000 to buy one.

It came as another blow in Brooke's short life, because she was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at six months old, after having been starved of oxygen at birth.

Lisa had a Caesarean Section when her first daughter, Paige, who is now 11, was born, but during Brooke's delivery, the old scar ruptured and the baby was expelled into Lisa's body cavity and inhaled blood.

John said: "It was a terrifying time. The surgeons at Peterborough District Hospital were absolutely fantastic. They basically saved both their lives and I can't thank them enough."

Brooke was put on a ventilator and kept in a medically-induced coma for the first three weeks of her life, but was eventually allowed home.

John said: "At first everything seemed fine, but after a while we realised something was wrong, her head was still really floppy and she had no muscle definition.

"When we were told she had cerebral palsy we were devastated. We just couldn't stop crying.

"We do not know what the future will hold, no one can tell us, but we obviously want to help make her life as fulfilling and happy as possible."

He added that seeing Brooke wheeling about on the Gait Master gave them hope of fulfilling their daughter's greatest wish – until it was dashed.

John said: "As her dad, I will do anything I can to help her, but we do not have thousands of pounds readily available.

"We are writing to various charities, such as Scope and the Beckham Trust, to see if they might be able to help, and I have asked the company I work for (Traxe Global Services) if they might put something towards it, but I am waiting to hear back."

A spokeswoman for NHS Peterborough said today that the NHS considers funding requests for specialist equipment on a case-by-case basis and any decision is based on clinical effectiveness and also cost effectiveness.