A STUDENT who was diagnosed with curvature of the spine and had to have a 10-hour operation has achieved double the GCSE results she needed for a place at college.
Darlington School of Mathematics and Science student Hannah Wintle secured 11 GCSEs at A-C grade and will go on to Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College to study geography, geology, English and graphics, a major step towards her goal of becoming an architect or interior designer.
The 16-year-old had more than two months off school and had to take her exams under the influence of strong painkillers including Tramadol and morphine after undergoing surgery.
Hannah was diagnosed with scoliosis in 2013 and before her exams endured a painful 10-hour operation at James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough, where £20,000 worth of titanium and cobalt rods and bolts were used to straighten her spine.
She said: “I am over the moon. I thought I would flunk everything. I remember being woken up in the middle of the operation, my blood pressure had dropped and I ended up having two blood transfusions.”
Despite initial issues with an allergic reaction to the padding on her back, the former dancer is recovering thanks to a brace she wears while asleep, to secure the bottom of her spine.
Hannah is now looking forward to using the geology hammer her parents bought her for her 16th birthday and is already back to kayaking and canoeing, with her sights set on building back up to rock climbing.
Maths teacher Ruth Hampson, who tutored Hannah at home during her recovery, said: “She didn’t give up. She was so determined and is a born survivor.”