THE mum of a Saltcoats youngster spoke of her pride after her daughter sat her first dance exam – just a few short years after she was told she would never walk.

Inspirational Keira-Leigh Conway has had her fair share of health issues during her short life but nothing fazes the six-year-old as she keeps on proving medical professionals wrong.

The Caledonia Primary School pupil was diagnosed with Swine Flu when she was just six months old and also has Epilepsy and Cerebral Palsy so getting around is difficult but with use of determination and her walking frame she takes on every obstacle in her path.

Her mum Debi beamed with pride as they spoke of Keira-Leigh and her accomplishments, especially after they were told that she wouldn’t make it when she was being treated at Yorkhill Hospital.

Debi said: “The doctors up at Yorkhill put her on life support but they were only putting her on it for family from down here to say goodbye. She was six, nearly seven months but it was nearly three weeks before she was getting negative results from the Swine Flu.

“We weren’t sure at that stage what her quality of life would be because her brain had bled and the doctors didn’t know and it was a case of ‘wait till she’s older and see what happens’.”

Battling Keira-Leigh spent a lot of her early months in and out of hospital but showed no signs of giving up at any stage and that resilience has continued to this day.

Her mum Debi and dad Joseph were convinced that she would improve and kept on trying to push her on to get that wee bit more independent every day.

Thirty-year-old Debi explained: “We just kept trying. It was determination really and she is determined so. I was lifting her up and standing her against the couch, sitting stuff at the back of the couch and sitting her down and asking her to get it. It is really just two years now.”

The Herald featured a young Keira-Leigh a few years back and how her family were fundraising to get her a trike to help with development and the family managed to get that and it helped enormously with her development.

Her mum added: “She had to pedal and it has built the strength up in her legs a bit but her legs are bad again but that is due to her muscles.”

Keira-Leigh is now in primary 2 at Caledonia Primary School and is a doting big sister to Carson and Jaxon.

Her mum joked: “She can be a bit of a hooligan and she is definitely the trouble maker but she is good but keeps trying to lift Jaxon who is eight months old and she is covered in bruises because she can’t stand for long.”

Now a new passion in life has taken over for Keira-Leigh as she joined up with a local dance school and she has once again grabbed the opportunity with both hands.

Mum Debi said: “She loves dancing about and has always wanted to go so I contacted Charlene’s Dance School so I went down to get her registered and we went through everything and she said she would take her.

“She does what she can manage and she got to do one dance exam and they had to contact the exam board and explain about her but they said yes and it was up to the dance teacher and she felt she could do the freestyle dance. We don’t get the results until January. I hope she’s passed, I hope they all have. She has a dance show in the summer.”

Keira-Leigh goes every week if she is feeling up to it and after all they have been through, it is clear to see the pride in her mum who said: “It is brilliant. See knowing she shouldn’t be here and she is, and then we got told she would never walk, talk, sit or crawl. That’s what we were expecting. She has done everything that they said she wouldn’t.

“She is just doing her own wee thing and doing what she can.”

Keira-Leigh’s gran Debbie added: “We are totally astounded by her. She is where she is because of her and her determination. She’s just gobsmacked the lot of us, even the professionals have been gobsmacked by the things she has achieved.”

The family wish to pass on their continued thanks to the doctors, professionals, Rainbow House and Charlene Cargill who takes her dancing for their support and help over the years.