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ONE tiny capsule of crystal MDMA, and one young life altered beyond recognition.

Amy Thomson’s speech is slow and slurred on the short video. “Thank you everyone,” the 16-year-old says, with some difficulty as she sits in a garden in the sunshine.

“Thanks for your support everyone.”

The drug has damaged Amy’s brain and the effects on her body are starkly clear. She sits in a wheelchair, her movements severely restricted.

But for Amy’s family, the brief clip they have shared publicly on Facebook is a wonderful sign of hope.

It shows how far she has come since she spent weeks in a coma, on life support. They are confident that, with the help of her doctors, she will make a great deal more progress.

The reaction to the video also shows how much Amy is loved. It has been “liked” more than 1000 times, and shared by hundreds of supporters, in just 48 hours.

As well as a tribute to Amy’s courage and strength, her cousin Kayla says the clip is also a warning to any other youngsters tempted to gamble with their lives and futures by using drugs.

Kayla wrote on Facebook : “Some people may have cried, laughed or been shocked seeing the video. But this is what a tiny pill can do to you.

“If this isn’t an eye opener for everyone who continues to take stuff, I dunno what is!”

Some of Amy’s friends, who had not seen her since she collapsed at a house party in June, wrote online about how much the video had upset them.

But Kayla told them: “Amy won’t be like this for the rest of her life. She’s getting the best care and support.

“What you are seeing is amazing compared to the way she was a few weeks ago. She’s improved in many amazing ways. She still has many improvements to show us all.”

Amy’s auntie Annie added: “This video likely shocked some people, but it’s not sad.

“Yes, she’s in a wheelchair at the moment and her speech is impaired, but she will keep improving. I’ve no doubt she’ll lead a full and happy life.”

Amy, a college student from Pollok in Glasgow , was taken to hospital on June 10 from a party in the Knightswood area of the city with three other girls aged 15, 17 and 18.

The others went home soon after but Amy was critically ill. She stayed on life support for around a month.

A man aged 33, and two women of 17 and 18, were arrested for alleged drug offences. And police and doctors warned the public about the threat posed by powerful crystallised ecstasy capsules believed to be widely available in Scotland.

After two weeks in a coma, Amy squeezed mum Tricia’s hand . Tricia told friends on Facebook: “I know she’s going to live and that’s all that matters.”

Doctors slowly stabilised Amy and she regained consciousness.

She was moved last month to a specialist rehabilitation unit for people with brain injuries. And last week, Tricia revealed she was being allowed visits home.

She said: “This must be what winning the lottery feels like.”

Please learn from the dangers

DRUG worker Marlene Taylor, of Glasgow’s Family Addiction Support Service, urged youngsters tempted by drugs to educate themselves.

She said: “We have had many parents through our doors who have lost their children to drugs. It devastates the whole family.

“Despite more education being available about drugs, and well-documented stories about youngsters who have lost their lives in this

way, these deaths still continue.

“No one really knows what is in these drugs and how that person’s body will react to it.”

Marlene advised young people exposed to party drugs to use websites such as Know the Score and Crew2000 to find out as much as they can about what they are taking.

She said: “They contain a whole range of information about so-called ‘recreational’ drugs and ‘legal highs’.”