By Annie Davidson BRAVE Samantha Hurr is to meet her footballing heroes after surviving a life-saving liver transplant.The desperately-ill 15-year-old was made the top priority for a transplant in the whole country after slipping into a coma.

By Annie Davidson

BRAVE Samantha Hurr is to meet her footballing heroes after surviving a life-saving liver transplant.

The desperately-ill 15-year-old was made the top priority for a transplant in the whole country after slipping into a coma.

Samantha, of Heath Road, Rowhedge, first fell unwell in September last year, with vomiting and fatigue.

Her condition gradually deteriorated and she was admitted to Colchester General Hospital before being transferred to Kings College Hospital in London on January 19.

Samantha had suffered acute liver failure, the cause of which has still not been established.

She underwent the transplant operation on February 10 after being moved up the waiting list when she slipped into a coma.

The seven-and-a-half hour operation was a success and the battling youngster was able to return home on March 5.

Now Samantha, a year 10 pupil at Thomas, Lord Audley School in Colchester, is to meet footballers from Colchester United, which she has supported all her life.

Her parents, Karen and Stuart, rang the Layer Road club and asked if the players would meet Samantha to boost her recovery.

She hopes to meet her heroes - including her favourite player, midfielder Thomas Pinault - within the next week.

Mr Hurr, 43, who is on sick leave with a leg injury from Wardle Storeys in Brantham, said his daughter's illness had been a strain on the family.

“She was in a real bad way and at one point we were told we could have lost her. Before they found the liver we were told she may have one or two weeks left,” he added.

“We know the donor was a young adult, a female. We have got a form which we can write to the family on, which we will do in time.

“One of the first things Sam said at the hospital when she came round was that she wanted to be a donor.”

Samantha, a midfielder for Colchester Ladies football team, said: “At first I didn't like the idea that someone else was living inside me. I felt guilty because someone else had died.”

Her mother added: “It has been really awful, but Sam has been so good and taken it all in her stride. The hospital and staff were just brilliant, they looked after her so well.”

Fundraising events are being organised by Colchester Ladies football club and Samantha's parents in aid of Kings College Hospital. Anyone wishing to donate money or prizes for a raffle should contact 01206 728558.

annie.davidson@eadt.co.uk