Megan takes health battle in her stride

Megan: “I like to support people and let them know there is somebody there to help them”

A serious illness and a horrific, unrelated accident mean 12-year-old Megan Clare has seen inside a hospital more times in her short life than most will ever experience.

But the youngster not only refuses to give in to her problems, she’s a tower of support to fellow pupils who need help at Failsworth School .

Megan has hydrocephalus, more commonly known as water on the brain. Four years ago, she had a brain operation to bypass a blockage, and last October endured a further seven hours of surgery to remove 2cm of skull so her brain could sit more comfortably on her spine.

Her mother, Sandra Grove, said: “It was a very traumatic time, and now we are waiting for the results to come back from an MRI scan on cysts on her spine.”

As if that wasn’t enough, two years ago Megan was involved in an accident with a boy riding a BMX bike which left her with a badly broken leg.

She spent 16 weeks in a cast — then doctors found the leg had been set with a bend, so Megan had to endure more work to correct the deformity. This involved setting the bone in a metal frame, with pins inserted through her leg to lengthen the bone.

Mrs Lydia Gordon, senior head of house at Failsworth School, said: “Megan is an outstanding and very brave student and a lovely, lovely girl. Despite everything she has gone through, she has continued to attend school, taking only a minimum time out, and the day before her last operation was more concerned about her schoolwork than the operation itself.

“She has shown great strength of character and determination, and is an inspiration and a role model to us all.”

Megan’s mother added: “She cares more for everyone else than she does about herself, and is always willing to help others. She just gets on with things, and to know she has been nominated for an award by someone who thinks she is that extra bit special for the right reasons, makes me extremely proud.”

Megan shrugged off the accolade, saying: “I like to support people and let them know there is somebody there to help them and that they can be someone.”

She admitted: “I do sometimes find it difficult to keep up with my schoolwork but I just get on with it and study as much as I can at home.”