The Girl with Two Hearts

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0:00:07 > 0:00:11Mountain Ash, a valleys town much like any other.

0:00:11 > 0:00:14But this is the setting for an extraordinary story that has

0:00:14 > 0:00:15changed the world of medicine.

0:00:17 > 0:00:21This is Hannah. She was born with a broken heart.

0:00:21 > 0:00:26Broken not by love or by loss, her heart was damaged and she was dying.

0:00:28 > 0:00:32For the past 19 years, she's been fighting for her life.

0:00:32 > 0:00:35This year, she will find out if she's been cured.

0:00:36 > 0:00:40Her childhood battle was filmed on home video.

0:00:40 > 0:00:44Told by her parents and the doctor who kept her alive,

0:00:44 > 0:00:46this is Hannah's story of survival against all odds

0:00:46 > 0:00:49that led to a ground-breaking discovery that's given hope

0:00:49 > 0:00:55to millions. This is Hannah Clarke, the girl with two hearts.

0:01:03 > 0:01:07At the Clark family home, there's rarely a quiet moment.

0:01:07 > 0:01:10Hannah lives with her parents, her sister Amy

0:01:12 > 0:01:15She's a busy young woman and lives life to the full,

0:01:15 > 0:01:18but it wasn't always like this.

0:01:18 > 0:01:22Soon after she was born, it was a very different story.

0:01:24 > 0:01:28BABY CRIES

0:01:35 > 0:01:39It meant a lot for me to start a family.

0:01:39 > 0:01:42I really wanted to start a family.

0:01:42 > 0:01:45There was three goals. I wanted to learn to drive,

0:01:45 > 0:01:48go on an aeroplane and have a child.

0:01:51 > 0:01:55So excited and yet worrying as well.

0:01:55 > 0:01:58And you don't know how your body's going to react.

0:01:58 > 0:02:02It was obviously the best time of my life when I was having a child.

0:02:02 > 0:02:04It was the fittest I've ever felt.

0:02:08 > 0:02:12It makes you change your attitude in life when you become a father.

0:02:12 > 0:02:15And then you worry about them when they get born.

0:02:15 > 0:02:19Yeah. It's like you always want to make sure they're healthy

0:02:19 > 0:02:22and nothing wrong with them when they're born.

0:02:22 > 0:02:24No defects or nothing, you know.

0:02:24 > 0:02:27You just want them normal and healthy children.

0:02:27 > 0:02:29BABY CRIES

0:02:29 > 0:02:32When Hannah was born we seemed to think everything was fine

0:02:32 > 0:02:33and everything was OK.

0:02:33 > 0:02:37She was just a screaming child baby, that's all.

0:02:37 > 0:02:38She kept crying a lot and...

0:02:38 > 0:02:43- we thought nothing at the time, did we?- No.

0:02:43 > 0:02:48And then, a couple of months after, she was still screaming, wasn't she?

0:02:49 > 0:02:55But the screaming wasn't a cry. It was literally a scream, which, oh...

0:02:55 > 0:02:57It was murder.

0:02:57 > 0:03:00And I started doubting myself as a mother.

0:03:00 > 0:03:04No way did I ever think it was as serious as what she was.

0:03:06 > 0:03:10Despite reassurances from their GP that all was well,

0:03:10 > 0:03:12the Clark's concerns grew.

0:03:12 > 0:03:14As the months went on, it seemed there was little

0:03:14 > 0:03:17they could do to ease their daughter's pain.

0:03:17 > 0:03:22All the kids used to be there jumping, and she was...

0:03:22 > 0:03:25This was before we took her home from the hospital.

0:03:25 > 0:03:27Yeah, before we took her to the hospital.

0:03:27 > 0:03:31And I said to him, "Oh, just chuck her on the bed.

0:03:31 > 0:03:34"Stop her crying. Chuck her on the bed." Didn't I?

0:03:34 > 0:03:37You'd be standing on the bed and you'd leave her go,

0:03:37 > 0:03:40she'd be bouncing on the bed and she used to love it.

0:03:40 > 0:03:42She used to love doing that.

0:03:43 > 0:03:45Didn't she?

0:03:45 > 0:03:47We took her over there and they did a chest X-ray

0:03:47 > 0:03:50and found out she had an enlargement with the heart.

0:03:51 > 0:03:54Hannah was the unlucky one in 100,000 children born with

0:03:54 > 0:03:56cardiomyopathy.

0:03:56 > 0:04:01She had a swollen, struggling heart that could have failed at any time.

0:04:02 > 0:04:07When the doctors discovered her rare condition they swung into action.

0:04:07 > 0:04:10The doctors there were wheeling her past and I thought,

0:04:10 > 0:04:11"Oh, my God. It's Hannah."

0:04:11 > 0:04:16They just took her into the side room and it just went haywire, didn't it?

0:04:16 > 0:04:18Just went bonkers.

0:04:19 > 0:04:21She could have gone any time.

0:04:21 > 0:04:22It was a nightmare.

0:04:22 > 0:04:25Every minute, every hour was getting worse and worse.

0:04:28 > 0:04:30I just stayed with her for a while.

0:04:32 > 0:04:34And then she got worse again, didn't she?

0:04:37 > 0:04:41There was so much happening, so soon, so quick.

0:04:41 > 0:04:44It was just a shock. And they were trying to get blood from her,

0:04:44 > 0:04:48and it took them hours to try and find a vein because obviously

0:04:48 > 0:04:52the heart is not working as good, so the veins are not as good.

0:04:52 > 0:04:56You don't want them to stick needles in your child,

0:04:56 > 0:04:59and you could see them screaming and crying and...

0:04:59 > 0:05:02It had to be done. You had to be cruel to be kind.

0:05:03 > 0:05:05We didn't know how we stood. We didn't...

0:05:05 > 0:05:07We didn't know what was happening.

0:05:07 > 0:05:09We didn't know if she was going to live or die.

0:05:11 > 0:05:13I wouldn't leave her die.

0:05:14 > 0:05:17I was determined that I would do everything

0:05:17 > 0:05:19I could to keep her alive...

0:05:20 > 0:05:23..everything...

0:05:23 > 0:05:24and I did.

0:05:27 > 0:05:30And then eventually there was talk that...

0:05:31 > 0:05:34..she weren't improving, she weren't getting any better.

0:05:34 > 0:05:39She still had this problem with the heart - it was still enlarged.

0:05:39 > 0:05:44And we needed to be assessed at the Airfield Hospital for...

0:05:45 > 0:05:48..the possibility of a heart transplant,

0:05:48 > 0:05:51and that's when we realised...

0:05:51 > 0:05:52how serious...

0:05:53 > 0:05:54..it was going to be.

0:05:54 > 0:05:57The transplant would be an extremely delicate

0:05:57 > 0:06:00procedure for a baby like Hannah.

0:06:00 > 0:06:04And, crucially, not many suitable hearts become available.

0:06:04 > 0:06:07Time was running out.

0:06:07 > 0:06:10It's really hard to explain. You don't want your child to die,

0:06:10 > 0:06:14so you would do anything in the world for your child to live.

0:06:14 > 0:06:18I would fly to the moon and back if that's what it would take.

0:06:18 > 0:06:20You would do anything. You would give your right arm.

0:06:20 > 0:06:24I've often thought at times, "I wish I could give her my heart,"

0:06:24 > 0:06:26and she'd live and I wouldn't.

0:06:28 > 0:06:30If that would cure her.

0:06:30 > 0:06:32I felt that way.

0:06:34 > 0:06:37Everything was just going as normal

0:06:37 > 0:06:40and we had a phone call from Airfield

0:06:40 > 0:06:42saying that we got a transplant...

0:06:43 > 0:06:45- SOBBING:- ..waiting for her.

0:06:45 > 0:06:48Could we make our way to London, to Airfield?

0:06:49 > 0:06:52And we blue lighted all the way to London.

0:06:54 > 0:06:57It was at this time a man came into her life who would have a

0:06:57 > 0:06:59profound effect on her future.

0:07:01 > 0:07:05Professor Sir Magdi Yacoub was born in Egypt where, as a young boy,

0:07:05 > 0:07:08he saw his aunt die of heart disease.

0:07:08 > 0:07:11Ever since, he's dedicated his life to finding a cure.

0:07:13 > 0:07:19Hannah's story is a long one and it started by Hannah being very,

0:07:19 > 0:07:25very sick with her heart with dilated cardiomyopathy,

0:07:25 > 0:07:30with her pumping chamber failing very rapidly.

0:07:30 > 0:07:35And...we didn't have a heart for a long time,

0:07:35 > 0:07:40and then she was deteriorating, and we thought she would not last.

0:07:42 > 0:07:46Surgeons worked through the night on two-year-old Hannah's tiny body.

0:07:50 > 0:07:56Come the early hours, her life saving donor heart was beating.

0:07:56 > 0:07:58Operating on such a young child

0:07:58 > 0:08:01and knowing that transplanted organs have a limited life span,

0:08:01 > 0:08:04Professor Yacoub had attempted a radical new procedure,

0:08:04 > 0:08:08leaving Hannah's natural heart in place.

0:08:08 > 0:08:14At that time I thought, for several reasons, it would be a good thing...

0:08:14 > 0:08:16to use a piggyback heart.

0:08:16 > 0:08:18What is a piggyback heart?

0:08:18 > 0:08:22It is that you leave the heart in place but use the donor

0:08:22 > 0:08:27heart as an assist device, so it pumps alongside the heart.

0:08:27 > 0:08:30It was relatively straightforward

0:08:30 > 0:08:35in that you use the heart-lung machine to support the heart,

0:08:35 > 0:08:40then you join the donor heart to Hannah's heart.

0:08:40 > 0:08:45So, the blood, which cannot go into Hannah's heart because there's

0:08:45 > 0:08:51massive resistance would go into the donor heart and is pumped out.

0:08:51 > 0:08:53So that's, in essence, what it is.

0:08:55 > 0:08:59When she came back out of this operation and there were all

0:08:59 > 0:09:04these monitors and ventilators and everything you can name,

0:09:04 > 0:09:08all these syringe drivers and everything on her,

0:09:08 > 0:09:10but we didn't look at them. We were looking at Hannah...

0:09:12 > 0:09:14..and she looked good.

0:09:14 > 0:09:17She had a nice colour in her skin where she always looked white.

0:09:18 > 0:09:21She had colour in her cheeks - looked perfect.

0:09:23 > 0:09:26It was a brave and risky operation that pushed the skills

0:09:26 > 0:09:30and knowledge of the best surgeons in the world to their limits.

0:09:31 > 0:09:36Professor Yacoub came out and took us to the side

0:09:36 > 0:09:40and he said that he'd done a piggy back transplant, and I just thought,

0:09:40 > 0:09:44"How can you do that? How does that work?"

0:09:44 > 0:09:48I said, "You can't do that - put two hearts in there - that's not normal."

0:09:49 > 0:09:53- The donor heart itself was much smaller than her heart,

0:09:53 > 0:09:58but it was quite adequate to transform her circulation

0:09:58 > 0:10:00and get her to survive.

0:10:02 > 0:10:05The advantage of having two hearts went beyond

0:10:05 > 0:10:06merely keeping Hannah alive.

0:10:06 > 0:10:09Professor Yacoub had a hunch that something altogether

0:10:09 > 0:10:12ground-breaking could happen.

0:10:12 > 0:10:15Hannah's natural heart might mend itself.

0:10:16 > 0:10:18OK...

0:10:18 > 0:10:21I had in the back of my mind that it might...

0:10:21 > 0:10:24That her heart would be given the chance to recover.

0:10:24 > 0:10:27There was a small chance, but it actually worked.

0:10:27 > 0:10:31As time went by her heart actually started to recover,

0:10:31 > 0:10:33and that took a long time.

0:10:35 > 0:10:39She shocked people how quick she recovered.

0:10:39 > 0:10:44And with her having a piggyback operation her own heart was

0:10:44 > 0:10:47still seriously bad, but her donor heart was doing well

0:10:47 > 0:10:51and it was like nothing had ever happened.

0:10:51 > 0:10:52She was just...

0:10:53 > 0:10:54Erm...

0:10:54 > 0:10:57- unbelievable, wasn't she?- Yeah.

0:10:57 > 0:11:00About a year and a half after her transplant,

0:11:00 > 0:11:03her own heart started to recover

0:11:03 > 0:11:07and it got to a stage where it was really, really good.

0:11:07 > 0:11:11Not like 100%, but more 80%.

0:11:12 > 0:11:14The best it had ever been.

0:11:15 > 0:11:20Every time they had new trainee doctors and consultants they would

0:11:20 > 0:11:26always ask, if Hannah was there, could they listen to her heartbeat.

0:11:26 > 0:11:29And he wouldn't tell them that she had two hearts...

0:11:30 > 0:11:36..until they examined her, and then he'd look at them.

0:11:36 > 0:11:40And they were sort of looking at him with a bit of doubt to say,

0:11:40 > 0:11:41"Well, I can hear two hearts."

0:11:42 > 0:11:47And then he would say, "Hannah's a piggyback heart transplant.

0:11:47 > 0:11:49"She's got two hearts."

0:11:49 > 0:11:50And they would be shocked at it

0:11:50 > 0:11:54and couldn't believe how somebody could have two hearts.

0:11:54 > 0:11:57CHILDREN LAUGHING

0:11:57 > 0:12:00As the weeks turned to months and the months turned to years,

0:12:00 > 0:12:03Hannah was recovering well.

0:12:03 > 0:12:06The good times had returned to the Clark household.

0:12:07 > 0:12:12After Hannah had her transplant, it was a sense of relief.

0:12:12 > 0:12:16She was walking like normal, talking normal.

0:12:16 > 0:12:18She was just a lovely little girl.

0:12:21 > 0:12:22Ah!

0:12:23 > 0:12:25As a transplant child,

0:12:25 > 0:12:28she would live the rest of her life on immunosuppression drugs

0:12:28 > 0:12:31intended to stop her body from rejecting the donor organ.

0:12:36 > 0:12:39She started going to school and was even well enough to take

0:12:39 > 0:12:41part in the British transplant games.

0:12:45 > 0:12:47She was making the most of life

0:12:47 > 0:12:51and her family didn't give her medial issues a second thought.

0:12:52 > 0:12:55As far as I knew, when she had a transplant

0:12:55 > 0:13:00and everything is OK and you don't have rejection,

0:13:00 > 0:13:04I thought she'd be right. She'd be OK. She'd be fine for life.

0:13:04 > 0:13:09I didn't realise it is not as easy as it sounds.

0:13:09 > 0:13:13At the age of six, Hannah found herself back in hospital.

0:13:16 > 0:13:18The strong drugs that were protecting her donor

0:13:18 > 0:13:22heart from rejection were leaving her immune system vulnerable

0:13:22 > 0:13:25and causing serious complications.

0:13:25 > 0:13:31One of the illnesses they can have through the anti-rejection

0:13:31 > 0:13:34drug can cause a form of cancer of the glands,

0:13:36 > 0:13:37..and it's called LPD.

0:13:39 > 0:13:41..lymphoproliferative disease.

0:13:43 > 0:13:45So...

0:13:46 > 0:13:47..this happened to Hannah.

0:13:49 > 0:13:54Her glands started to pop up in her cheeks and she started to get ill.

0:13:56 > 0:13:58We thought, "Here we go again."

0:14:00 > 0:14:05She started to have complications of immunosuppression, the drugs,

0:14:05 > 0:14:10and she developed a rather aggressive cancer...

0:14:11 > 0:14:17..which affected her bones, her neck...

0:14:17 > 0:14:20She couldn't breathe, so that was really difficult.

0:14:22 > 0:14:27We tried to use anti-cancer treatment, but it didn't work.

0:14:27 > 0:14:32We collaborated with groups at Great Ormond Street and the US,

0:14:32 > 0:14:39where we programmed her own cells to fight the cancer - it didn't work.

0:14:39 > 0:14:44Regular cycles of chemotherapy were taking their toll on her young body.

0:14:46 > 0:14:48At this time, a children's charity paid for them

0:14:48 > 0:14:50to go to Florida on a holiday.

0:15:04 > 0:15:07Wherever we went the video camera always came with us

0:15:07 > 0:15:10because we didn't know how long we had Hannah for.

0:15:13 > 0:15:18We made a film of Amy, Hannah and Daniel in the pool.

0:15:20 > 0:15:24We needed to be reminded of all the good times that we had

0:15:24 > 0:15:26because there was no pain with Hannah -

0:15:26 > 0:15:29it was all excitement and laughter

0:15:29 > 0:15:32and enjoying her brother and sister.

0:15:33 > 0:15:37And I just let the film run and I thought,

0:15:37 > 0:15:40"I know what I'm going to do with this film."

0:15:40 > 0:15:45And although a video would never bring Hannah back...

0:15:45 > 0:15:47we needed it. I was going to use it to play.

0:16:00 > 0:16:03Hannah was in a no-win situation.

0:16:03 > 0:16:06The immunosuppression drugs that were protecting her donor heart

0:16:06 > 0:16:09were also causing tumours to ravage her body.

0:16:11 > 0:16:13Between the ages of eight and 11,

0:16:13 > 0:16:16her doctors struggled to strike a balance

0:16:16 > 0:16:19and Hannah came close to the brink many times.

0:16:21 > 0:16:24It got to the stage then that she became ill again,

0:16:24 > 0:16:29and she was so ill that she was nearly lifeless again.

0:16:29 > 0:16:32She was having seizures,

0:16:32 > 0:16:35and they said to me that...

0:16:35 > 0:16:42"We think the cancer's spread to her spinal cord...

0:16:42 > 0:16:46"and she's only got 12 hours to live."

0:16:53 > 0:16:58So I said to them,

0:16:58 > 0:17:00"You believe what you believe.

0:17:00 > 0:17:05"I believe what I believe. I'm going back to Hannah. She needs me."

0:17:06 > 0:17:10I left them there and threw my chair across the room and left.

0:17:10 > 0:17:11I said, "Thank you very much."

0:17:14 > 0:17:16When Hannah woke the next morning,

0:17:16 > 0:17:19no-one could believe she was still alive.

0:17:21 > 0:17:24She suffered a lot during this period, you can imagine.

0:17:25 > 0:17:31And eventually, we decided to reduce the immunosuppression,

0:17:31 > 0:17:36hoping that that would improve the cancer, and it worked.

0:17:38 > 0:17:42But when the cancer improved, there was a problem

0:17:42 > 0:17:44because the donor heart,

0:17:44 > 0:17:49that rejection got worse and worse and worse.

0:17:49 > 0:17:52We couldn't stop the immunosuppression completely

0:17:52 > 0:17:58because that would make the heart almost toxic, the donor heart. Er...

0:17:58 > 0:18:00Her own heart, in the meantime,

0:18:00 > 0:18:02was getting better and better and better.

0:18:03 > 0:18:05In a cruel twist of fate,

0:18:05 > 0:18:09the heart that had once saved her was now killing her.

0:18:10 > 0:18:13The family were desperate and the man they trusted with her life

0:18:13 > 0:18:16was now retired and out of the country.

0:18:16 > 0:18:20We had a very good social worker, which is Jo, Jo Wright,

0:18:20 > 0:18:23and she's from Hayfield.

0:18:23 > 0:18:27She was still in touch with Professor Yacoub, so we said,

0:18:27 > 0:18:31"Get back in touch with Professor Yacoub.

0:18:35 > 0:18:38"Please ask him, can he do something?"

0:18:40 > 0:18:45For Christmas in 2005, 12-year-old Hannah got the welcome news

0:18:45 > 0:18:50that Professor Yacoub was flying into the country, and he had a plan.

0:18:50 > 0:18:53She said, "We've got the best man back, Mam."

0:18:53 > 0:18:58"I said, "We have. We'd only get the best man back."

0:18:58 > 0:19:00And then she stopped worrying.

0:19:00 > 0:19:04He proposed to remove Hannah's donor heart.

0:19:04 > 0:19:08However, no-one had ever dared such a risky procedure before,

0:19:08 > 0:19:11and there was no way of knowing if her natural heart

0:19:11 > 0:19:13could cope on its own.

0:19:13 > 0:19:16We decided to take the donor heart out completely.

0:19:16 > 0:19:20People said, "Nobody has done this operation before.

0:19:20 > 0:19:25"It's going to be impossible and dangerous," and so on.

0:19:25 > 0:19:27I said, "We know where we put it."

0:19:36 > 0:19:42The ground-breaking procedure was planned for 20th February, 2006.

0:19:42 > 0:19:44With her family by her side,

0:19:44 > 0:19:46Hannah prepared for her operation

0:19:46 > 0:19:49at Great Ormond Street Hospital, London.

0:19:49 > 0:19:54We were getting her ready for the operation and her nerves kicked in...

0:19:57 > 0:20:00..and she was worried...

0:20:06 > 0:20:08..that she wasn't going to make it.

0:20:11 > 0:20:17We were trying to convince her to carry on down the corridor.

0:20:17 > 0:20:21She wanted to walk, to go down to have this operation.

0:20:23 > 0:20:26But she was hesitating.

0:20:26 > 0:20:28When we took her down to the theatre,

0:20:28 > 0:20:33we actually gave her a kiss.

0:20:33 > 0:20:36Maybe for the last time in my life, I don't know.

0:20:39 > 0:20:42It was then, I was looking at her - she was sleeping - thinking,

0:20:42 > 0:20:45"Oh, my God, they're going to cut her."

0:20:48 > 0:20:51And in my mind, I was thinking, I just want her back.

0:20:51 > 0:20:55I don't care how you do it, what you do to her,

0:20:55 > 0:20:56just make sure I get her back.

0:21:01 > 0:21:05The operation was planned to take eight hours.

0:21:05 > 0:21:10Whilst the surgeons worked, all the family could do was wait.

0:21:11 > 0:21:15We had this teddy, so we decided to give it a name

0:21:15 > 0:21:17while Hannah was having this operation.

0:21:17 > 0:21:19So we thought, how can we name this teddy?

0:21:19 > 0:21:24We got together the names of the doctors and people

0:21:24 > 0:21:29which meant most to us, and we took letters from each of their names

0:21:29 > 0:21:31and come up with...

0:21:31 > 0:21:36- Bonzy.- And every letter meant something, didn't it?- Mmm.

0:21:36 > 0:21:40After only four hours, news came from Theatre.

0:21:40 > 0:21:44The donor heart that kept Hannah alive for over a decade

0:21:44 > 0:21:46had been successfully removed.

0:21:46 > 0:21:49She was no longer the girl with two hearts.

0:21:53 > 0:21:57'A hug from her mum, as Hannah Clark is overcome by emotion

0:21:57 > 0:21:58'at a press conference...'

0:21:58 > 0:22:01When the news broke in the Lancet medical journal

0:22:01 > 0:22:04that doctors had helped a human heart recover,

0:22:04 > 0:22:07Hannah faced worldwide media attention.

0:22:07 > 0:22:10'The doctor who's overseen Hannah's care since she was small

0:22:10 > 0:22:13'is delighted by her heart's recovery,

0:22:13 > 0:22:15'and says it's the first time

0:22:15 > 0:22:17'it's happened to a child.'

0:22:17 > 0:22:23The heart is not showing any signs of any deterioration.

0:22:23 > 0:22:27As a matter of fact, it's getting better and better with time.

0:22:27 > 0:22:28So it's really great.

0:22:28 > 0:22:32'Apart from the medical lessons learned from Hannah

0:22:32 > 0:22:34'about how children's hearts work,

0:22:34 > 0:22:35'her doctors say one of the most important

0:22:35 > 0:22:38'for those pushing the boundaries of medicine

0:22:38 > 0:22:40'is to never give up.'

0:22:40 > 0:22:42'After the operation, we didn't know'

0:22:42 > 0:22:44how long she would survive.

0:22:44 > 0:22:49It was all new... new territory for everybody.

0:22:49 > 0:22:53For the doctors, and every year is a bonus.

0:22:53 > 0:22:55So we have two birthdays -

0:22:55 > 0:22:59one to celebrate her donor heart coming out,

0:22:59 > 0:23:03and one is her own original birthday.

0:23:09 > 0:23:13Today, seven years on since the removal operation,

0:23:13 > 0:23:16Hannah is at the Magdi Yacoub Heart Science Centre,

0:23:16 > 0:23:20as the professor wants to review her case.

0:23:22 > 0:23:25- Hey!- Hello!- Hannah, how are you?

0:23:25 > 0:23:28Lovely to see you. My God, you have grown!

0:23:28 > 0:23:31- You are so tall now.- Sort of!

0:23:31 > 0:23:34- Still tiny!- What do you mean, still tiny?- Still short.

0:23:34 > 0:23:39A very, very attractive young lady.

0:23:39 > 0:23:43I think the long-term is quite good.

0:23:43 > 0:23:45Her heart has been monitored regularly

0:23:45 > 0:23:47since the removal operation.

0:23:47 > 0:23:49Now, Hannah and her family want to know,

0:23:49 > 0:23:53has their ordeal finally come to an end?

0:23:53 > 0:23:58All the indications point in the direction that Hannah is cured.

0:24:03 > 0:24:07What's going to happen in 100 years, I don't know.

0:24:07 > 0:24:12- I probably won't be here in 100 years.- You probably will!

0:24:13 > 0:24:16It was amazing. It's really good.

0:24:16 > 0:24:21Things like that will help other people in the future.

0:24:21 > 0:24:27This is how they cure these illnesses and solve these problems.

0:24:27 > 0:24:31And hopefully, the future will be brighter

0:24:31 > 0:24:36and she'll keep heading the way that she's heading.

0:24:36 > 0:24:41- The main thing is, are you enjoying life?- Yes.

0:24:41 > 0:24:45- In what way?- Just going out, doing normal things.

0:24:45 > 0:24:47So you finished school?

0:24:47 > 0:24:49Yeah, I finished school. I finished college...

0:24:49 > 0:24:52'Hannah has taught us many things,

0:24:52 > 0:24:56'er, what the human body can endure,

0:24:56 > 0:25:01'in terms of many problems she has been through.'

0:25:01 > 0:25:02This is heart muscle...

0:25:02 > 0:25:05'And, er, more than that is

0:25:05 > 0:25:09'all the findings about the immune system,

0:25:09 > 0:25:11'fighting cancer,

0:25:11 > 0:25:17'and how it can actually win against very aggressive...'

0:25:17 > 0:25:19I mean, very aggressive cancer.

0:25:19 > 0:25:22Now you have a beautiful heart, that's the thing to remember.

0:25:22 > 0:25:25And you'll look after it.

0:25:25 > 0:25:29'So, with Hannah, and other people in the recovery,

0:25:29 > 0:25:32'we want to solve the mystery'

0:25:32 > 0:25:33of heart failure,

0:25:33 > 0:25:37and the mystery of biology, if you like.

0:25:37 > 0:25:41Such, er, an intricate story.

0:25:44 > 0:25:47At London's Royal Brompton Hospital,

0:25:47 > 0:25:49doctors are already putting into practice

0:25:49 > 0:25:53what was learned from Professor Yacoub and this breakthrough case.

0:25:56 > 0:26:00Hannah's surgery really was a step of

0:26:00 > 0:26:02advancing our understanding

0:26:02 > 0:26:04of how the diseased,

0:26:04 > 0:26:06failing human heart can recover,

0:26:06 > 0:26:09that it is a potentially rescuable situation.

0:26:10 > 0:26:12The evolution in cardiac medicine

0:26:12 > 0:26:16over the past 50 years has been dramatic.

0:26:16 > 0:26:21First came better drug treatments, transplantation followed.

0:26:21 > 0:26:24Today, doctors are looking to lay down their scalpels

0:26:24 > 0:26:28and are turning to cutting-edge genetics to repair,

0:26:28 > 0:26:30rather than replace, broken hearts.

0:26:31 > 0:26:34The era of biological repair solutions

0:26:34 > 0:26:37to a variety of different diseases doesn't mean that

0:26:37 > 0:26:40we'll be in a new era for modern medicine.

0:26:40 > 0:26:44Only time will tell whether the step-wise impact

0:26:44 > 0:26:47is the same as the discovery of antibiotics.

0:26:47 > 0:26:49But it's conceivable that

0:26:49 > 0:26:51it could have a major impact on our healthcare.

0:26:54 > 0:26:56Whilst the story of Hannah's heartbeat

0:26:56 > 0:26:58resonates around the world,

0:26:58 > 0:27:01in Mountain Ash, she has her own future to consider,

0:27:01 > 0:27:05a future she could never have dreamt of

0:27:05 > 0:27:09if it wasn't for those who gave her the gift of life.

0:27:09 > 0:27:13Without people so dedicated in their job, Hannah wouldn't be here.

0:27:13 > 0:27:17And also, with people making the right decision

0:27:17 > 0:27:20by allowing their child to be a donor.

0:27:22 > 0:27:26If it wasn't for donors, Hannah wouldn't be here. Simple.

0:27:30 > 0:27:33It's very hard to use the word 'miracle'.

0:27:33 > 0:27:35What does 'miracle' mean?

0:27:35 > 0:27:38Very unusual, er...

0:27:38 > 0:27:41unexpected, er...

0:27:41 > 0:27:45miraculous? I don't know, what is a miracle?

0:27:45 > 0:27:48Yeah, it's veering on that.

0:27:48 > 0:27:52Professor Yacoub is like a second father to me,

0:27:52 > 0:27:55cos he's known me inside-out

0:27:55 > 0:28:00and he is the bestest man I have ever met, apart from my dad.

0:28:00 > 0:28:03He is incredible and means so much to me

0:28:03 > 0:28:06and my family, cos he's brought me back to life.

0:28:06 > 0:28:08Not once, but twice.

0:28:08 > 0:28:11And I wouldn't be here without him.

0:28:11 > 0:28:17I actually feel that it's a privilege for somebody like me

0:28:17 > 0:28:22to be involved with such a speciality, which I love,

0:28:22 > 0:28:27enjoy, particularly seeing people getting better.

0:28:28 > 0:28:31There is, er,

0:28:31 > 0:28:33nothing better than that.