Hannah 'Loves Leisure'

Pioneering heart transplant teenager Hannah Clark launched Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s Love Leisure for Life campaign on the most romantic day of the year.

The 16-year-old from Miskin, Mountain Ash, is qualified more than most to promote the importance of having a healthy heart - she had two beating inside her body for more than a decade of her life!

She first fell in love with leisure activities at a young age and even competed in the World Transplant Games.

Since being bitten by the leisure bug, Hannah has been a regular visitor to Rhondda Cynon Taf Council leisure centres and enjoys the gym, swimming and table tennis.

Cllr Robert Bevan, Cabinet Member for Culture, Recreation and Tourism, said: “Hannah is an inspiration to so many people and is the ideal person to front our Love Leisure for Life campaign.

“Rhondda Cynon Taf Council is doing all it can to promote a healthy lifestyle and we are delighted that Hannah is leading the way by making use of the fantastic facilities we offer at all of our leisure centres.”

At the tender age of two, Hannah underwent a lifesaving transplant operation when her own enlarged heart began to fail. It was the first operation of its kind in the UK.

Hannah had been diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, a potentially fatal disease that almost doubled the size of her weakened heart - a disease which affects one child in 100,000.

Heart specialist, Professor Magdi Yacoub, and his team of dedicated surgeons, carried out a ’piggy-back’ heart transplant operation. They grafted a new heart - which had belonged to a five-month-old girl - onto Hannah's heart.

The transplanted organ took over most of the work of the left side of Hannah's heart, allowing her natural heart to rest, and for more than a decade, Hannah Clark had two hearts beating as one.

But the 1995 operation did not come without any complications. As a pupil at Pengeulan Primary School and Mountain Ash Comprehensive School, Hannah had to take a daily batch of 17 drugs to suppress her immune system.

She was vulnerable to infections and diseases and spent months every year in hospital.

After ten years, Hannah started to suffer serious side-effects from the drugs and began to develop a type of cancer linked to organ transplants.  At one point, medical staff told her parents Paul and Elizabeth that their daughter could have just 12 hours to live.

The only way to halt the cancer was to remove the donor heart. Professor Magdi Yacoub, by now Sir Magdi Yacoub, came out of retirement to supervise the 'reverse transplant' operation at Great Ormond Street Hospital, London in 2006.

Sir Magdi Yacoub, Founder and Director of Research at the Harefield Heart Science Centre based at the world famous Harefield Hospital in London, was knighted in 1991 for services to medicine and surgery.

Born in Egypt, he graduated from Cairo University Medical School in 1957, trained in London and held was Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon at Harefield Hospital from 1969 until 2001 and the Royal Brompton Hospital from 1986 until 2001.

He established the largest heart and lung transplant programme in the world, having performed more than 2,500 transplant operations and developed pioneering operations for a number of complex congenital heart anomalies - including Hannah’s ‘piggy-back’ heart operation.

Hannah's original heart is now back to full strength after the donor organ was safely removed.

Today, the 16-year-old has made a full recovery and says she is “proud and honoured” to be the face of Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s Love Leisure for Life campaign, which was launched on Valentine’s Day.

It aims to get people of all ages active and undertaking exercise in a bid to improve their health and wellbeing.

It is all about talking simple steps to make exercise part of your daily routine and reaping the benefits alongside potential weight loss, enhanced fitness, muscle gain or even improved socialisation.

Hannah is now living life to the full and is free from daily transplant drugs, regular hospital trips and the risk of life-threatening infections.

She loves sport and leisure activities and is an accomplished athlete and swimmer.

Hannah said: “The message I want to get across to people is Love Leisure for Life - there are activities out there for all ages and abilities and they are available at all of Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s 11 leisure centres.

“I have been given a second chance in life and owe it all to Sir Magdi Yacoub. It is now up to me to look after my heart and keep it healthy.

“I could not go out before because my chest was so bad, and when I did, my mother and father used to follow me because they were so worried. Now I am just like any other teenager.”

Hannah admits that it felt strange at first having just one heart functioning in her body.

She said: “I felt empty - I could actually feel that something was missing in my chest, but I was so happy.”

Having completed her GCSE’s, Hannah is now in further education and looking forward to the rest of her life.

Dad Paul said: “Hannah now lives a normal healthy life and myself and Elizabeth thank the surgeons for giving us back our daughter. She may not be the best athlete in the world, but she is fit and active and we are very proud of her.”

To celebrate Valentine’s Day, there were many activities taking place at leisure centres right across Rhondda Cynon Taf, including:

Michael Sobell Sports Centre, Aberdare: A Love Songs Rebound Class, a rebound class to some of the finest sloppy songs ever recorded.

Rhondda Fach Sports Centre: A Valentine’s Day Moonlight Swim, for one night only.

Rhondda Sports Centre: A special Trixter session, hosted by a couple who actually met at the class.

Hawthorn Leisure Centre: A free family Wii Dance session to love songs as well as a ‘romantic’ Rebound taster session. 

Hawthorn Swimming Pool: Turned its water a romantic red colour, for one day only. There were also romantic love songs played into the pool area to help add to the atmosphere.

Bronwydd Swimming Pool: Sauna and Steam Room for couples only on the day, as well as turning its swimming pool red.

Tonyrefail Leisure Centre: Offered the public the unique chance to swim in its ‘romantic red’ waters.

Llantriant Leisure Centre: Wheelchair rugby taster session, giving disabled and able-bodied people the opportunity to try out the growing sport in Wales.

For further details on all the sports and leisure facilities available throughout Rhondda Cynon Taf all year round, pop into your nearest leisure centre or visit www.rctcbc.gov.uk/leisure|