A two-year-old girl who was fighting for her life after being found unconscious in a park fountain has made a “miraculous recovery”, her mother has said. Grace Lear had disappeared from her mother Hannah and her older brother Noah at Fishpond Park in Pontypool last month after Hannah had taken them there with friends on the way back from Griffithstown Primary School.
Minutes later Grace was found unconscious in a fountain in the park by a stranger, who scooped her out and began chest compressions with the help of other Samaritans while an ambulance was called. Remembering the harrowing incident, Hannah said: “Within ten minutes they just about managed to get her back. A minute or so later the ambulance, police and two helicopters arrived and every person began working hard on her.”
Grace was urgently conveyed to University Hospital Wales in Cardiff but was then quickly sent to Leicester for specialist treatment, where she received a lung and heart bypass due to the seriousness of her condition. Grace was then considered to be in a stable enough condition to return to hospital in Cardiff.
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But this week an overjoyed Hannah shared the fantastic news that her daughter is making significant progress in her recovery. “Since coming back down to Cardiff she has made a miraculous recovery,” Hannah explained. “We’re completely amazed by her, but so are all of the doctors.
“We were told multiple times most children don’t survive, or if they do they’re left with severe brain damage, yet here she is well and truly living to tell the tale. Grace has been off the ventilator for ten days and did so well coming off it she didn’t require any additional help with oxygen in the days afterwards.”
Grace has now had an MRI scan on her brain which Hannah and partner Sam said they were “incredibly worried about”, but they were relieved that her results were clear. Grace is now receiving sedatives and strong antibiotics, and is being fed via a tube into her stomach.
“We’re working on all the smaller things now like strength and mobility and this bit of her journey is the longest stretch,” Hannah continued. “But she’s doing so well, showing her cheeky character that we have missed terribly.
“She’s trying so hard with a lot of determination, especially in the last two days. She went outside yesterday in the hospital children’s playground for a bit of fresh air - the first time since July 12. This morning she also took her first steps with the physio team since her accident.
“It’s Grace’s third birthday on August 17 and we’re really hoping we get to celebrate that at home with all of her family and friends around her, but we’ll see.”
A fundraising page set up for Grace, which you can see here, that had a goal of £500 has now received more than £4,500. In the days after Grace’s accident Hannah told WalesOnline she couldn’t thank everyone enough for the support the family received.
“The concern, kindness and generosity has been nothing but outstanding,” Hannah said. “People who are complete strangers to us all as a family have shown just how wonderful they are. Sam and I are so grateful for everything - all the well wishes, every little comment, donation, nothing has gone unnoticed.
“It’s also incredibly comforting. When I haven’t been able to fall asleep in the night I’ve been lying in bed reading through the comments. It’s just so lovely at this horrible time.”
To the four men who gave Grace emergency CPR, Hannah added: "Sam and I both want to say that words alone will never be enough to say how thankful we are. If it wasn't for their efforts she wouldn't be alive and fighting so there will never be enough thank yous. We owe them our lives and we're really looking forward to eventually meeting them all with Grace."
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