Today is Ellie Jordon’s 15th birthday – and all she wants is a bath.

Since a bout of suspected meningitis at only three weeks old left her with severe brain damage, she has faced an uphill struggle to lead a normal life.

Despite doctors saying she would never be able to walk or talk, Ellie has defied all expectations, even completing a mile walk for Sport Relief in 2012.

But just a year later, aged 13, an incurable viral infection destroyed Ellie’s left eye and caused further brain damage, leaving her unable to walk more than a few steps.

She wears nappies, her ground-floor bedroom has padded walls to stop her hurting herself and for the past two years, because she can’t go upstairs, Ellie has been unable to have a bath at home.

Mother Sonia said: “She’s my hero. If she wasn’t so brave, we would have crumbled years ago.”

The family came to Sutton from Essex eight years ago to enrol Ellie at Lindon Lodge, a specialist sensory and physical college in Wimbledon.

The Jordons moved from rented accommodation into their current Collingwood Road house in June, expecting Sutton Council would pay to build a ground-floor bathroom extension for Ellie, including a special bath and cleaning suite.

In July, the Jordons were told there would not be enough funding to pay for the bath.

Mrs Jordon, 34, said: “We thought it would be built by now.

“We can’t get her in the upstairs bath safely.”

The family is now fundraising on their own to raise £11,000 for the bath.

They have already spent considerable sums of money making the house safe for Ellie, and both parents have given up work to give her round-the-clock care, as well as looking after her sisters, Lily, eight, and Millie, seven.

Mrs Jordon said: “We’ve always tried to do it ourselves. But we owe thousands to the bank.

“We know no one around here, it all revolves around Ellie.”

Today, there will be a bouncy castle in the Jordon’s garden – a birthday tradition. But next year, her mum is hoping Ellie will be able to have a bath at home as well.

You can help pay for the bath at gofundme.com/97uly8.