Police appeal after vehicles are torched
difficulties she may have physically as well as encouraging her to do her best.
“I cannot express how proud I am of Mia and Reece.
“Despite Mia’s difficulties, she has still managed to receive Player of the Month twice.”
Mum Shelagh, 44, also voiced her pride. She said: “It’s hard enough to take on the boys but Mia Rose does it against all the odds.
“She is a wee battler but she loves the football and she has done so well with it.
“She has so much energy and she loved aikido and gymnastics too, which are difficult for her, but she doesn’t let any physical problems get in her way.
“She has been surrounded by supportive people. She just thinks about what she can do, not the things she can’t.”
Mia said: “I don’t really care if I’m the only girl. I was really happy to win Player of the Week awards and I always try my hardest.”
“It’s good that my dad and my big brother are with the club too because they help me out.”
Shelagh was initially told her baby had no heartbeat when she was rushed by ambulance to the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley on April 25, 2012.
Mia was born via emergency Caesarean section and needed life-saving surgery and 10 blood transfusions after being rushed to the Sick Kids’ Hospital in Yorkhill, Glasgow.
Stephen, who was working in London at the time, made a frantic dash home.
The next 72 hours were critical, with concerns that Mia could lose her left arm or a foot, which had turned black due to a lack of oxygen. She slowly recovered but lost the top of two fingers on her left hand and the tips of three other fingers.
Shelagh needed two blood transfusions after she began to haemorrhage. It was five days before she was well enough to visit her baby girl in hospital.
Yesterday, clinical staff who treated Mia at Yorkhill said they were thrilled at her progress.
Kevin Hill, director of Women and Children’s Services, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, said: “It’s great to hear that not only is Mia Rose doing well but is the star of her team.
“From the very beginning, everyone at the Royal Hospital for Children involved in her care knew she was a wee battler.
“We’re delighted that Mia Rose is shaping up to be a great footballer. Hopefully, we’ll be able to say, ‘We know her’, when she’s playing for Scotland in the World Cup in the future.” TWO cars were set on fire in a driveway in the early hours of yesterday.
Police said they were treating the incident in Townhead, Coatbridge, as wilful fire-raising.
The Mercedes and BMW were set on fire in Tantallon Drive shortly before 2am.
Firefighters rushed to the scene but both cars were badly damaged before the blaze was extinguished.
Detective Sergeant Graeme Lawrence said: “This was a terrifying experience for the owners of these vehicles.”
He asked anyone in the area who saw or heard anything suspicious to contact police.
MIA’S COACHES ON PLAYER OF THE WEEK