‘Will to live has got her through time after time’

THE parents of a teenage girl who has come back “from the brink of death” three times in her short life have praised her incredible fighting spirit.

Hannah Coombes, who was born so prematurely her mum Cheryl didn’t even realise she was pregnant, has suffered with major health complications her entire life.

As well as being diagnosed with low muscle tone, global developmental delay and deafness, she has incredibly low lung capacity.

The 13-year-old has needed to be put on a hospital ventilator three times since the age of 10 when she was unable to breathe independently.

But the Frozen fanatic has continued to defy doctors’ expectations and make a full recovery each time.

To give thanks to the dedicated staff at the Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospital for Wales in Cardiff, Hannah and her parents are set to take part in the Noah’s Ark Family Fun Walk in Cardiff Bay in September.

Her dad Peter said: “Hannah’s strength gives us strength. We fight for her and she fights even harder – for herself and for us.

“She amazes us every day with her sheer determination to live life to the full.

“It’s her will to live and love and the care that she receives at Noah’s Ark which has got her through time after time.”

Hannah, from Llantwit Major, made a very dramatic arrival into the world in August 2002 – because mum Cheryl has no idea she was expecting until a few hours earlier.

“I came home from work and Cheryl was lying on the bed in pain,” added Peter.

“She suffers with kidney stone problems, so I automatically assumed it was that. We eventually managed to get an appointment with our doctor who had a look at Cheryl and told us ‘a little surprise’ was on the way.”

Hannah was born via C-section eight weeks prematurely but was quickly taken away from her parents and placed in a special care baby unit.

“Hannah decided that she couldn’t wait to come into the world,” Peter added.

Despite suffering a bleed on her brain which led to hydrocephalus at 10 weeks old, Hannah battled on.

And at three months old, Cheryl and Peter were finally able to take her home.

Cheryl said: “We still don’t have a name for what she has so now we just call it Hannah syndrome.”

Despite encountering many complications and setbacks, Hannah thrived, learning sign language and becoming an enthusiastic member of Heronsbridge Special School in Bridgend.

But in December 2012 she developed a serious chest infection and had to be rushed to intensive care at the University Hospital for Wales in Cardiff.

Peter added: “Back then intensive care was divided into a ward for adults and another one for children within the main hospital and arriving there for the first time was massively daunting for Cheryl and I.

“The doctors prepared to anesthetise Hannah so that she could be put on a ventilator.

“And seeing her sign ‘see you later’ to me – despite how poorly she was – just tore my heart in two.

“We’d always been told that if Hannah ever needed ventilation she’d probably never come off it so we spent that Christmas Day just sitting at her bedside, staring at the machines and willing her to get well enough so that we could take her home again.”

And to the surprise of her medical team, that’s exactly what Hannah did – and by mid-January 2013 the family where at home celebrating a belated Christmas.

Hannah made a miraculous recovery again the following year after coming down with a chest infection so severe that scans showed no room left for air in her lungs.

But with sheer strength and determination, she pulled through again.

She was even well enough to take part in the Noah’s Ark Charity Family Fun Walk in September 2015, with her wheelchair sporting a sign which read “Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospital for Wales saved my life twice – thank you”.

But little did the family know the teen was about to face her toughest battle yet last March.

Cheryl said: “Hannah had taken part in a sponsored mile on the Friday and was happy and well.

“But by Saturday morning it was clear that she’d caught something and was struggling to breathe and we knew she was in trouble.

“We took her straight to Noah’s Ark and she was put straight on to a high pressure mask.”

As well as an infection on her lungs, Hannah had developed a strain of flu which doctors said was serious enough to hospitalise a person who was otherwise completely well.

Despite being given the maximum dose of antibiotics and placed on a ventilator, her condition continued to deteriorate.

Peter added: “Over the years, Hannah’s care team have become like friends to us and I’ll never forget the look on our consultant’s face when she came to tell us the results of Hannah’s chest X-ray.

“She just said ‘I’m so sorry – it’s awful.’ They explained that Hannah was at rock bottom and all that was left to do was watch and wait.

“We could see her little body struggling and I’d have done literally anything to take it from her and fight it instead but all we could do was stare at the screens for even the slightest glimmer of improvement.

“We’ve been told by Hannah’s doctors many times that she’s a little miracle so we just held out hope for another one.”

Hannah started to fight back and from there on the speed of her recovery was certainly nothing short of miraculous.

She started to breathe for herself, her temperature went down and within a few days she was taken off her ventilator and was sitting up in bed.

“The first thing she did was sign ‘aeroplane’ to us,” said Peter.

Hannah was ready for a holiday and by May she was well enough to go on a two-week trip to Spain that the family had planned.

Peter said: “Having a child with such a complicated medical condition is daunting, but we get 110% reassurance from knowing that everything Hannah needs, from the equipment and facilities to the incredible doctors, nurses and play specialists, is now there under one purpose built roof.

“All the money and time in the world wouldn’t be enough to say thank you for Hannah, but helping the Noah’s Ark Charity to ensure that the hospital has what it needs to give kids like Hannah the best care possible is our little way of giving something back.

“Because for us it’s simple – without the hospital we’d be without Hannah.”

For details go to www.noahsarkcharity.org/familyfunwalk