These remarkable photos show teenager Sophie Redmond at a Taekwondo grading class – just a year after major spinal surgery.
The brave 13-year-old hit the headlines as she campaigned outside the Dail for children like her in urgent need of treatment for scoliosis.
Sophie, from Loughlinstown in South Dublin, was “left crippled” on a lengthy waiting list and could not play with her friends for fear she would hurt herself.
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At just 11 years old, she handed a letter to Taoiseach Micheal Martin at the Dail telling how she felt she was a “prisoner of the health service”.
Sophie got the vital op in February last year and is now a member of the Irish Taekwando Tigers Club in Loughlinstown under world Champion Master Michelle Hogan.
The brave teenager said she has a “new lease of life” and is delighted to be able to do sports and play with her friends and her brother Tyler, nine.
She told the Irish Sunday Mirror: “I spent all of last winter watching Cobra Kai on Netflix.
“It made me feel so good and showed me everyone is fighting their own battles in life.
“I wanted to take up a new sport and I decided to try out martial arts. It’s great that my brother can come with me and we can train together at home too.
“Taekwondo is really good for your fitness and your mental health. Our master Michelle is the best, she’s so nice and patient.
“She takes time to chat with me and makes me feel a big part of her club which means a lot to me as I can’t always do everything in class.
“All you have to do is be the best you can be.”
X-rays showing a double spinal curve underlined the urgency of Sophie’s case as her scoliosis threatened to twist it into her lungs and pelvis, leaving her crippled.
As the Government promise to cut waiting lists to four months failed to be put into action, her dad Eric branded it “child abuse”.
Sophie urgently needed an anterior and posterior spinal fusion using metal rods.
The surgery finally took place in Temple Street Children’s hospital under consultant Dr Connor Green.
Last week, a beaming Sophie said: “My surgeon Connor and Chris O’Brien, who does my physio from Cappagh Kids, both helped me a lot.
“Without them I wouldn’t be able to take part in any training.”
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