An inspirational teenager who nearly died - and faced never walking or talking again - has defied the odds to attend her Year 13 prom with a smile on her face.
Keira’s resilience, coupled with her love for Taylor Swift’s music, has guided her through her recovery process. Over the next few days, doctors fought hard to tackle the infection. They then decided to reduce sedation and try to wake Keira up. “In the background, I played songs by her favourite musician, Taylor Swift. Then something happened - she opened her eyes.
Over the next few days Kiera and her mum learnt a form of communication with blinks of her eyes to represent yes and no, and then came a twitch of her hand. Keira didn’t let that stop her and over the next five months she courageously battled hard “doing exactly what was expected of her, and more”. Each physio session was accompanied by Taylor Swift’s music.
Keira is on medication, some of which will be for life, and painkillers to reduce the pain from the nerve damage. Despite being left with reduced mobility, she is showing great strength and determination to get back to as normal a life as possible. “It was very emotional. The whole leading up to it, getting her dress. I thought she’d be going to prom in a wheelchair as that’s how she came out of hospital.