Wish granted for op-refusal girl

An insurer has been found to allow Hannah and her family to go to Florida

A terminally-ill girl who refused a heart transplant has been told she will get her wish to go to Disney World.

Hannah Jones, 13, from Marden, near Hereford, has a hole in her heart but has refused an operation because she does not want constant medication.

The parents said the NHS had said it was considering legal action to ensure she was treated but later backed down.

The charity Caudwell Children said it had finally found an insurer after an exhaustive search of 30 companies.

It had offered her a family holiday earlier this year but said it had previously been unable to find anyone to insure her.

'Terribly excited'

It said the insurer wanted to remain anonymous, but could offer them a policy for next month's trip, which Hannah said "would mean a lot to her."

Trudi Beswick, the charity's chief executive, said: "We are all terribly excited that we will be able to take Hannah and her family with us on 1 December so they can enjoy the memories and see her smiles.

"We are so grateful to the insurer as we were running out of time and it would have been absolutely devastating for the family to tell them they couldn't go.

"It was never about the money, although we had a lot of people coming forward offering donations."

Hannah was offered a heart transplant in July 2007, but said she did not want to go through with it after taking advice from doctors.

Wish granted

She previously suffered from leukaemia and her heart was weakened by the drugs she was required to take from the age of five.

Her parents said Hereford County Hospital's child protection team contacted them in February threatening to remove Hannah from their care if they did not bring her to hospital for the operation.

But Hannah said the transplant might not work, and if it did, it would be followed by constant medication.

Her parents said Herefordshire Primary Care Trust had applied for a court order in February to force her to have the transplant.

They said the trust later withdrew its case after the child protection officer said Hannah was adamant she wanted to stop treatment.

The trust said it was "delighted" an insurer had been found to enable Hannah to travel to Florida with her family.

She is due to join 40 other families, doctors and volunteers on a trip to Disney World next month.