Girl returns to school after quadruple amputation
BBCA six-year-old girl who underwent a quadruple amputation after contracting a rare form of meningitis has returned to school.
Saffanah, from Stockton-on-Tees, was placed in an induced coma in January after the infection left her fighting for her life, and she had to have her forearms and lower legs amputated.
Her mum, Sahdia, said she was initially told her daughter would not survive.
After four months in hospital, Saffanah was finally able to return home - with her family saying, although her illness has had a huge impact on her life, it has not changed her.
"I felt my world turn upside down," her mum, Sahdia, said, recalling her daughter's devastating illness.
"I felt like I couldn't breathe - if anything happens to her I don't think I will survive."
Now, five months after becoming unwell, Saffanah has begun to gradually return to normal life, including attending primary school.
Joanne Vollands-Ross, Saffanah's headteacher, said: "The children have been so excited - and Saffanah herself has been so excited.
"She's like a personality - being greeted when she's coming in and everybody welcoming her.
"It's just her true personality coming out as she comes back to school again."
Despite her trauma, Saffanah's family say, if anything, the six-year-old is even more sassy than before, adding, even during difficult days, she has remained as polite as ever.
"She's doing amazing now," her mum said. "Even when she doesn't like having her dressings changed.
"It has affected her... but it's not changed her at all."
Sahdia's thoughts have now turned to her daughter's future, and how she might achieve her ambitions, despite her quadruple amputation.
"She just wants to climb, she loves climbing," Sahdia said.
"I wonder if she's going to climb a mountain. I believe in her, she can do it.
"She's going to climb a mountain one day."