By BETH HALE

Last updated at 22:22 30 October 2007

After her teenage daughter slipped into a coma, Thelma Pickard never lost hope of recovery.

Six years on, the devoted mother is daring to believe her hopes may be answered.

Daughter Amy, now 23, has begun to show signs of life after being given an over-the-counter sleeping pill.

Last night Mrs Pickard said the 'old sparkle' returned to her daughter's eyes when she was given a pill and described the change as 'amazing'.

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Until last month she remained seemingly lifeless in bed in a nursing home.

But now, barely four weeks after taking her first Zolpidem pill as part of a worldwide trial, she is breathing by herself, instead of through a hole in her throat, reacting to food and showing signs of awareness.

Mrs Pickard, 54, said: 'She is changing and it is amazing. When she takes the pill, I see her face relax and the old sparkle return to her eyes. It's incredible. When I look at her now I can see the old Amy coming through, fighting to get out.'

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Two weeks ago Amy stood up - with support from two nurses - for the first time since she lost consciousness. She is also focusing on objects and making voluntary noises rather than staring into space with no sign of life.

Amy was 17 and preparing for the birth of her first child when she slipped into a coma six years ago.

She collapsed and suffered severe brain damage after experimenting with heroin. Shortly afterwards, former nurse Mrs Pickard, a mother of two from Hastings, East Sussex, allowed an image of the teenager in her hospital bed to be released as a poignant plea to persuade others not to use drugs.

Since then she has spent hours at her daughter's bedside at the Raphael Medical Centre in Tonbridge, Kent, visiting every day.

Her decision to allow her daughter to be part of the drugs trial is the subject of a BBC1 documentary, to be shown tonight. Amy is one of 360 people taking part in the trial .

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The remarkable side- effects of Zolpidem were first noticed in South Africa after 24-year-old Louis Viljoen suffered serious brain damage when he was hit by a truck in 1994.

Doctors expected him to die and told his mother he would never regain consciousness. He was prescribed Zolpidem - normally used as a quick fix for insomnia - five years later in an attempt to reduce involuntary spasms in his arm.

Doctors thought the drug would send him into a deep sleep and stop him moving around so much - but just 25 minutes after being given the first pill, he sat up and said: 'Hello, mummy.'

Medics were baffled, and British firm ReGen Therapeutics is now leading research into the astonishing side-effects.

Mrs Pickard, who flew to South Africa to meet other patients, said: 'I had read about this drug but I never dreamed Amy would get a chance to try it.

'When I came back from South Africa, I was exhausted but the hope in my heart was intense. I realised Amy must try this new treatment.'

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Doctors have warned it could take months for a major breakthrough-in her daughter's condition- but Mrs Pickard says progress is already obvious.

'Her eyes are now focusing on things, she's more aware of her surroundings and she's making so much noise - almost forming actual words. It's remarkable.'

Amy is also reacting to food and drink - grimacing when given a lemon or something sour and smiling when given something sweet.

Mrs Pickard added: 'It's a day-today waiting game to see what will happen next, but I just know she's going to speak any day.'

ONE Life: The Waking Pill -