Manchester bombing survivor, 15, sobs as Louis Tomlinson presents her with NHS Heroes Award
A brave teen cried as she was praised by the former One Direction star after her heroic fundraising for the hospital that saved her life after the Manchester bombing
A 15-year-old who survived the Manchester bombing sobbed as she was praised by Louis Tomlinson as he presented her with an NHS Heroes Award.
Freya Lewis received the The Young Fundraiser Award by the former One Direction star after raising £27,000 for the hospital that saved her life.
She had been attending the Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena on May 22 last year when a suicide bomber killed 22 people and injured 59.
Louis has also faced up to his own battle supporting his dad who is fighting liver cancer, 18 months after the singer’s mum died of leukaemia.
Freya suffered multiple fractures, lacerations and burns from being hit by shrapnel and was unconscious in hospital.
The blast also killed one of her best friends, Nell Jones, 14.
She was at the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital for five weeks and had to undergo five operations in 11 days.
After spending three months in a wheelchair, she was back on her feet and she has been busy raising the sum for the hospital.
Next week she takes part in the Great Manchester Run.
Mum Alison said: “She is so determined. She has shown the most incredible strength.”
In a blog post last July, Freya's parents Nick and Alison posted a message which said Freya’s strength was "impossible to put into words" and that she was doing "fantastically well".
Freya spent a lot of time during her recovery thinking about her friend Nell Jones who tragically died at the scene.
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The post read: "Her mood remains positive, she has spent a lot of time since she’s been home finding pictures and videos with Nell.
"She even found the selfie that Nell had insisted was taken the first time that they ever met, in Year 7. Finding these pictures has been really good for Freya, as it reminds her just who Nell was and how much she loved her.
"One barometer of how she’s getting better is the amount of cheek that is coming our way. She decided this morning that she fancied a specific type of cake, which we didn’t have. Five minutes later, when she saw me sat in a chair, she said ‘why are you still here?’"
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