GoFundMe efforts continue for Hannah Leonard as hospital transfer gets green light

The family of Hannah Leonard have shared that there is "light at the end of the tunnel" as her transfer to Beaumont Hospital in Dublin was approved after a bacterial infection in her spinal fluid delayed the move by five weeks.

During the time it took for the infection to clear, medical staff had to cease much of the treatment Hannah was receiving which added to the delay in her transfer to Dublin.

Speaking on RTÉ's Today with Claire Byrne, Hannah's father Kevin Leonard said: "There's finally a light at the end of the tunnel in that it looks like within the next week or two we will be able to get her home."

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Hannah's parents have both been by her side in Catania since her accident, Kevin explained that after three months Hannah's mother has returned to Ireland with their other children as they return to school.

Speaking on the response the GoFundMe page set up by Hannah's uncle Ralph Leonard, Kevin said: "The response to the GoFundMe has been overwhelming for Vanessa and I."

Kevin explained that the GoFundMe was initially set up to get help from family and friends who could offer their assistance. He said: "We never expected this to raise anything close to what it has raised for her, it's fantastic and three months in there's still funds coming into it."

When asked about what lies ahead in terms of Hannah's road to recovery, her father said: "This is a long term injury and Hannah's got a long journey to go and we still don't know where she will land once that journey is finished.

"In that journey there's going to be a lot of therapy, a lot of care, there will probably need to be adjustments made to our house, we'll probably have to get specialist equipment, so there will be a lot of future costs associated with Hannah and her condition."