GCSE joy for the 16-year-old girl doctors gave just six weeks to live at the age of four
- Kirsty Howard was born with her heart back-to-front
- Enjoyed a celebration lunch after scooping an impressive 12 GCSEs
- Schoolgirl from Wythenshawe, Greater Manchester, has met a string of celebrities as a result of her charity work
A teenager who was given just weeks to live at the age of four is celebrating after gaining an impressive 12 GCSEs.
Kirsty Howard, 16, from Manchester, was born with her heart back-to-front – a condition so rare it did not even have a name.Her parents were told she had only six weeks to live.
But the youngster, who has led a campaign to raise £5 million for Francis House Children’s Hospice in Manchester, has battled against the odds and is today celebrating exam success.
Exam joy: Kirsty Howard, who was given just weeks to live at the age of four is celebrating after gaining an impressive 12 GCSEs
Kirsty, a pupil at Newall Green High School in Wythenshawe, said: ‘It was scary but it went OK.’
Kirsty said she had been out for a celebration lunch after having to spend most of the morning in hospital.
The teenager, who still suffers from the rare heart defect which could end her life at any moment, is determined to live life to the full and now intends to go to sixth form college and eventually go on to study Child Care.
The teenager has won a host of famous admirers during her lifetime.
Kirsty Howard, pictured here in 2009 with the Prime Minister David Cameron and his wife Samantha, has spent much of her life battling a rare heart defect
Survivor: Kirsty Howard, then aged six, with David Beckham at the start of the Commonwealth Games in 2002 – because of her rare medical condition she was not expected to survive
Golden girls: Kirsty passes the Jubilee baton to the Queen with a little help from an admiring David Beckham
Star support: Kirsty with David Beckham when she was seven years-old (left); and in 2002 with Ronan Keating (right) when she turned on the Blackpool Christmas lights.She has raised in excess of £5m for charity
Former England football star David Beckham was befriended by the youngster when she led out the England team at Old Trafford in 2001, for a World Cup qualifier against Greece in which her hero scored the winning goal.
A year later, she met Beckham again as she handed over the Golden Jubilee baton to the Queen at the opening ceremony for the Manchester Commonwealth Games.
She has also spent time with David and Samantha Cameron, as well as former prime minister and his wife Tony and Cherie Blair.
In 2004 she won the Helen Rollason Award for courage at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards.
Kirsty continues to do charity work through The Kirsty Club which aims to keep improving the Francis House Children’s Hospice.
Party girl: Kirsty arrives at her school prom at Lancashire Cricket Club earlier this year
Schoolgirl Kirsty Howard has defied all the odds to battle through against her heart condition
The extraordinary 16-year-old has won a host of famous admirers during her lifetime.
Former England football star David Beckham was befriended by the youngster when she led out the England team at Old Trafford in 2001, for a World Cup qualifier against Greece in which her hero scored the winning goal.
A year later, she met Beckham again as she handed over the Golden Jubilee baton to the Queen at the opening ceremony for the Manchester Commonwealth games.
‘Weeks to live’: Even now Kirsty, pictured here in 2004, said she knows she could die any second – but she has remarkably survived and continues to live a very full life
KIRSTY’S BACK TO FRONT HEART
She was born with a back-to-front heart
Her heart problem has subsequently caused the misplacement of her internal organs
The condition is a form of situs slot indonesia ambiguus and can’t be cured with an operation
As a result Kirsty needs a constant oxygen supply to keep her alive
She was is the only person in the UK, and only the second in the world, diagnosed with the condition in February 1999
She was initially only given only six weeks to live, but has defied the odds to reach her teens
Mingling with the stars hasn’t gone to Kirsty’s head, however, and just like many teenagers her age she loves going to the cinema with friends – with posters of her movie idol Robert Pattinson filling-up the walls of her bedroom.
In 2004 she won the Helen Rollason Award for courage at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards.
As a youngster, she was also chosen as the face of the £5million Kirsty Club appeal for the Francis House Children’s Hospice in Didsbury, Manchester.
She continues to appeal through The Kirsty Club which aims to make the hospice even bigger and better.
The money raised by The Kirsty Club will be used to expand Francis House to help meet the needs of more than 900 families of children with a short life expectancy.
Having reached her teenage years she also has big hopes for the future.
She admits she doesn’t have a boyfriend yet, but would love to have a big wedding with Beckham as the guest of honour.
She said in The People: ‘I lead a normal life.I go to school. I have lots of friends. I spend every night texting, going on the computer and watching TV.
‘I love Corrie and Eastenders and especially Britain’s Got Talent and The X Factor. I’ve also started salsa dance lessons with my sister.I can get out of my wheelchair to do it. Its so much fun.Kirsty, who has had 11 major operations, added: ‘It’s not been easy, but this is who I am and its helped me do a lot of good for others.
‘My secret is to be positive, not to let anything get me down.’
Celebrity support: Kirsty with Victoria Beckham and British singer Victoria Beckham (R), Mohamed al Fayed as she launched a fundraising drive
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