‘I went out to buy some chips and my life changed for ever’

Hannah Mcwann whitethorn look similar an ‘ordinary’ mum. She supports Liverpool FC, enjoys committee games similar Scrabble and loves thing much than a Sunday Roast with her household gathered circular the table. But her achievements of precocious tin lone beryllium described arsenic extraordinary.

Hannah, 46, has walked 1,000 steps to rise money for injured radical successful Gaza. Each measurement took a immense magnitude of intelligence and carnal spot for the mum-of-four, who has lived with a encephalon wounded since a catastrophic autobus clang successful 2017.

‘I’ve grown up with Palestine successful my heart,’ Hannah, wearing a reddish and achromatic keffiyeh, tells Metro from her location successful London. Her husband, Mostahfiz, 49, sits astatine her side. Hannah continues: ‘There are radical determination [in Gaza] similar maine with traumatic encephalon injuries, but they bash not person the NHS, they bash not person the superb surgeons I had.’

At 11.08am connected December 1, 2017, Hannah’s beingness changed successful an instant erstwhile she was deed by a autobus connected a zebra crossing adjacent her location successful Kingston. She can’t callback the accident, but her hubby remembers that time successful detail. 

‘I was sick and hadn’t gone to work,’ Mostahfiz, a erstwhile superior schoolhouse teacher, tells Metro.

‘Hannah was going to prime up our youngest son, Zayd, from nursery and said she’d popular to Sainsbury’s connected her mode backmost to get immoderate frozen chips. I waited rather a while, but she didn’t travel home. I thought she mightiness person bumped into a neighbour and got chatting, but past the nursery called and said no-one had arrived to prime up Zayd.’

Mostahfiz dashed retired of the location and encountered a constabulary serviceman connected his mode out, conscionable 5 minutes from the clang scene.

‘He asked if I knew Hannah and I said “yes, I’m her husband”,’ Mostahfiz  recalls.

‘I learned she’d been airlifted to St George’s Hospital successful Tooting. Apparently, Hannah had really got up aft she was deed and walked circular successful a dazed state. When paramedics arrived they saw humor successful her eyes and ears and induced her into a coma consecutive distant arsenic they knew she had a encephalon injury. By the clip I got to the hospital, she was already successful surgery.’

Hannah was operated connected successful what’s known arsenic ‘the aureate hour’, the abbreviated model aft a terrible encephalon wounded during which contiguous aesculapian attraction increases the likelihood of survival. At hospital, doctors removed the close broadside of Hannah’s skull to let country for her encephalon to swell and trapped humor to drain away. Mohstafiz was warned she mightiness not unrecorded done the adjacent 72 hours.

Hannah, past 39, did survive, albeit with a Traumatic Brain Injury. As she ‘slept’ successful her coma, her household was astatine her side; her parent chopped her nails and Mostahfiz played immoderate of their favourite classical euphony – specified arsenic the Lord of the Rings soundtrack.

She woke successful March 2018, 4 months aft the autobus crash, and was thrust into a caller world, 1 wherever she could not speech and could hardly move.

A fewer months later, Hannah was moved to the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability successful south-west London wherever she worked to regain the skills she lost. She had to suck cola bottles done a muslin cloth to relearn however to chew and usage a whiteboard and pen to communicate.

In a touching infinitesimal caught connected camera, Hannah wrote ‘I volition marque dua for you’ [I volition commune for you] for her eldest son, Salahaddin, erstwhile helium had exams approaching. When, connected her 3rd try, her lad could recognize her scrawled writing, she laughed and burst into tears – simply flooded with emotion. 

‘My biggest accomplishment is conscionable being capable to talk,’ Hannah, a erstwhile past teacher, says.

‘I couldn’t talk astatine each for astir 3 years. My extremity was ever to get a small independence. And that started with insubstantial and pen successful the hospital. I had mislaid dexterity successful my manus truthful they [my household and nurses] had to decipher things. When they did recognize me, I would cry.’

Hannah speaks dilatory present owed to a information called dysarthia which weakens her rima muscles. It besides makes her code of dependable little than earlier the accident. Mostahfiz sits by her broadside and mildly translates immoderate answers that are harder to decipher. 

However, Hannah inactive has a dependable and connected October 26, she utilized it to enactment radical successful Gaza with her ‘walk 1,000 steps’ fundraiser. Hannah completed the steps successful her room with the assistance of her household and her carers Edel and Blessing. 

‘It was each acknowledgment to my daughter,’ Hannah says. ‘She came from schoolhouse and I told her I had walked 100 steps. She laughed astatine me, not successful a mean way, and said the mean fig of steps a time for a “normal” idiosyncratic was 1,500. And that was the “Eureka” infinitesimal and I realised I could locomotion to rise wealth for radical successful Gaza.’

Initially, Hannah wondered if she’d adjacent scope £1,000. But the donations flooded successful and her existent total stands astatine £28,000. 

Money raised volition spell to Human Appeal’s Gaza Emergency Appeal and assistance wage for crutches, wheelchairs and aesculapian enactment for radical who person mislaid limbs oregon suffered encephalon injuries during the conflict. 

‘Hannah has done truthful overmuch with what radical spot arsenic “limitations.”,’ Mostahfiz says proudly. ‘She has truthful overmuch much beingness to springiness and radical to inspire. It’s amazing.’

Moving forward, Hannah is determined to support moving to amended her code and mobility. That beardown tendency to flooded challenges has ever been portion of her; arsenic a teen she sat her Maths GCSE 3 times to get a pass. 

There are moments wherever the mum-of-four feels bid with her caller normal; specified arsenic erstwhile the household cooks unneurotic and she directs her hubby and children astir the kitchen.

In her online blog, Hannah details the chapters of her rehab and betterment to springiness anticipation to others. Meanwhile Mostahfiz, a keen wildlife photographer, enjoys dawn walks astir Richmond Park and watches roaming cervid and swooping birds. He’s had to give  up his occupation arsenic a superior schoolhouse teacher to attraction for Hannah, but is present embarking connected a caller vocation arsenic a photographer. 

Hannah continues: ‘The enactment from my hubby has been  tremendous. He lifted maine up erstwhile I was precise very down and has supported me. And my children, they are my joy. 

‘My religion besides gives maine my hope, I don’t cognize wherever I’d beryllium without it. A batch of clip [when you are disabled] you tin consciousness alone, but I person my nexus with God, truthful I ne'er consciousness alone.

‘There is ever hope, adjacent erstwhile everything feels dark. You mightiness person to look hard, but determination is ever airy astatine the end, you conscionable person to beryllium patient.’

To donate to Hannah’s fundraiser, click present

To travel Hannah’s blog, click here

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