A BRAVE 13-year-old girl needs a lifesaving heart transplant after she was diagnosed with a rare condition after collapsing at school.

Aspiring hockey player Anna Hadley, from Worcester, had just been picked to play for the county when she collapsed during a PE lesson at Nunnery Wood High School last November.

She was diagnosed with restrictive cardiomyopathy and Long QT syndrome

Until her transplant she cannot undertake any strenuous competitive sport.

“My new ‘hockey heart’ will save my life and allow me to play hockey again,” said Anna.

“I can’t wait for that day to happen, but it also makes me sad to think that another person will lose their life in order to save mine.”

With her hockey dreams on hold, the plucky teen is now taking part in the Worcester Hearty Walk as part of her mission to raise money for the British Heart Foundation.

With the run to take place on April 15, Anna has already exceeded her original sponsorship target of £100 with over £1,300 pledged so far.

Dad Andy Hadley said: “Anna will eventually need a heart transplant, but she is an incredibly positive girl.

“This is a tremendous start to her goal of helping to raise funds for the BHF and to raise awareness of heart disease in children and the donor registration system.”

He said: “She’s not on the transplant waiting list yet because it’s fairly early days, but we know that it will happen. The only option she has to extend her life is a transplant."

After her collapse at the end of last year, Anna underwent a series of tests at Birmingham Children’s Hospital and Great Ormond Street in London.

Any form of exercise that puts strain on her heart is currently out of the question – a cruel blow for someone who has been playing hockey since she was five and had just been selected for Worcestershire Junior Academy Centre.

But the under-13 Worcester Hockey Club squad member has seen donations flood in from as far away as Australia and the USA.

What’s more, GB international hockey players Zoe Shipperley and Shona McCallin, who have coached Anna in the past, also lent their support, and within hours her total had reached nearly £800.

As well as mum and dad, Amanda and Andy, and her 17-year-old sister Molly, Anna is encouraging as many people as possible to join in the Worcester Hearty Walk.

Mr Hadley went on to say that he had heard about the Hearty Walk and suggested Anna take part.

“Basically, to refocus her while she's still reasonably able-bodied."

“Her heart doesn’t pump blood round her body at a quick enough rate. She gets tight chested and light headed when she does too much.”

He said: “The recovery period after a heart transplant is six months and after that she goes back to a normal active life – she can climb mountains, swim oceans, play hockey.

“She’ll get back to normality in terms of sport. If she gets a new heart she can play.”

Anna will no longer have the symptoms of her condition after the transplant but will have to continue taking medication and there are always risks of her body rejecting the new heart.

Mr Hadley said his daughter plans to fundraise for a number of charities that have helped her, including the two hospitals, until her condition deteriorates too far.

The family have all also signed up to the organ donor register, with one donor able to save or improve the lives of nine people.

Online registration for the walk with a link to a sponsorship page is now open at bhf.org.uk/worcesterheartywalk, or you can call 0300 330 3322 for a registration form or register on the day.

The walk starts off from Foley’s Café at Worcestershire County Cricket Ground, New Road, Worcester between 10am and 10.30am, and the check-in desk opens from 9.15am.

Walkers can choose either a three or six-mile circular route on flat gravelled paths suitable for buggies and wheelchairs – and dogs – and there are prizes for the best ‘wear something red’ costumes.

Visit justgiving.com/fundraising/annas-hockey-heart to sponsor Anna.