A two-year-old girl is fighting for her life after being found unconscious in a park fountain. Grace Lear disappeared from her mother Hannah and her older brother Noah at Fishpond Park in Pontypool on Tuesday afternoon after Hannah had taken them there with their friends on the way back from Griffithstown Primary School.
After an hour passed on the up to then unremarkable afternoon, Grace’s father Sam arrived with their youngest child Benjamin. Hannah says the pair and their friends were distracted for “a few split seconds” on the lawn beside the play area in the park before realising Grace had wandered off.
“He (partner Sam) brought him (Benjamin) over to our little group and in the split few seconds our attention had turned and Grace disappeared,” Hannah said. “She hadn’t even been missing for one minute before we looked up to find her gone.
READ MORE: Paddleboarder dies after three rescued in incident on Welsh beach
“Our group ran in every direction of the park, calling her name and asking anyone that we passed. I was just going back to the lawn we had been on when I heard a gentleman shout to call an ambulance.
“He then pulled Grace out of the fountain. She was completely lifeless and not breathing. He gently laid her down where two or three gentlemen from the bowling club began CPR on her.
“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 then transferred to University Hospital Wales in Cardiff but due to the seriousness of her condition was transferred to Leicester on Wednesday, where she received a heart and lung bypass.
“Grace is incredibly poorly,” Hannah said. “She’s the sickest child here at the moment so I think that tells you the severity. But she is stable now and that’s all that matters. She is responding to every bit of help she is given."
To the four men who gave Grace emergency CPR, Hannah said: "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."
A fundraising page has been set up, which you can see here, for Hannah and her family by Emily Ostler - a complete stranger - which has already raised more than one thousand pounds. Hannah said she “can’t thank everyone enough” for their support.
“The concern, kindness and generosity has been nothing but outstanding,” Hannah added. “We’re in the worst case scenario and we’ve had the backing of everyone at home.
“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.”
READ NEXT:
