Schoolgirl dubbed Kid Courage by her ice hockey heroes after five-hour spine op

The 12-year-old’s recovery was given a huge boost when four Glasgow Clan players paid a surprise visit to her home in East Kilbride.

Leah had been diagnosed with scoliosis – curvature of the spine – and specialist consultants decided she needed an urgent operation at the Scottish National Spine Service, at the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People, in Edinburgh.

The five-hours of surgery earlier this month involved attaching two steel rods down each side of Leah’s spine to straighten her vertebrae. Without this operation Leah’s curvature of the spine would have steadily worsened.

Leah MacmIllan with Clan players Landon Bow, Mike Pelech, Rob Lachowicz and Mitchell Heard

When Leah got back home after the surgery, her mum and dad, Douglas and Lisa contacted The Clan asking if they could send Leah a card with messages of support from some of the players.

But the professional ice hockey outfit went a whole lot further and Clan stars Landon Bow, Mike Pelech, Rob Lachowicz and Mitchell Heard turned up at Leah’s door to meet her and personally pass on their best wishes for her recovery.

Her favourite player is Rob Lachowicz who said: “Leah sure is one tough cookie the way she has dealt with everything she has had to put up with.

“It was quite inspirational meeting Leah and she’s definitely a Kid Courage as far as I’m concerned.”

An X-ray shows Leah's spine before the operation.

As the scoliosis became more severe, Leah had to limit the physical activities she could take part in, experienced pain in her hips and instead of fashionable outfits, she would only wear loose-fitting clothes like T-shirts and hoodies to hide the curve in her spine and uneven shoulders.

Douglas said: “Leah has been unbelievable the way she has dealt with everything. She is a remarkable girl, hasn’t felt sorry for herself, never complaining and has just put a smile on her face and carried on despite everything she was going through. We are very proud of her.

“Thankfully, the operation has been a success and it means Leah can have a good life as she grows up into adulthood. She’s now two-and-a-half inches taller after the surgery straightened her spine and she just loves that.”

Leah loves watching The Clan and one of her targets as she recovers from the operation is to be fit enough to attend a home game at Braehead Arena at the end of October – a few days before her 13th birthday.

An X-ray shows Leah's spine after the operation with steel rods inserted.

She said: “I was very surprised when the Clan players turned up at my house. I had been guessing all morning who was coming, as my Mum and Dad put extra chairs out saying we were getting surprise visitors. I had no idea that the Clan players could even do that and I was shocked.

“It was fun and exciting, as you only normally see the players on the ice, so it was cool chatting with them.

“It was amazing meeting the players and having a few things signed.

“I’ve been going to watch the Clan with my mum, dad and my Papa, David MacMillan for six years. I can't wait to get back to Braehead again to cheer on The Clan.”

Douglas added: “We can’t thank The Clan and their players enough for taking the time to pay Leah a visit and spend more than an hour talking to her when we only asked for a card with a few messages from players.”