Brave Lyla O’Donovan gets military honour for courageous fight against brain tumour

A brave girl has been honoured with a top medal from the Army regiment in which her Hartlepool dad serves.
Lyla O'Donovan with her medal from The Rifles.Lyla O'Donovan with her medal from The Rifles.
Lyla O'Donovan with her medal from The Rifles.

Lyla O’Donovan, seven, has been awarded the Commanding Officer’s coin from The Rifles regiment in which her dad Paul is a Colonel.

It recognises her courage in her fight with a tumour, and her bravery in undergoing ten operations on her brain.

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Proud dad Paul, originally from Hartlepool, said: “Not many people get one of these and it is a real privilege within The Rifles.

A close-up on Lyla's medal.A close-up on Lyla's medal.
A close-up on Lyla's medal.

"If you get one, it is an achievement. It is normally given for acts of bravery on operations such as if you pull someone out of a firefight. It shows she is brave and courageous.”

Lyla’s surgery at Newcastle’s RVI hospital on Friday, May 22, was carried out to try to reduce the number of dangerous and frightening seizures she regularly suffers.

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It was her tenth time on the operating table since she was diagnosed with the tumour in 2016 at the age of just three.

Lyla O’Donovan with her dad Paul O'Donovan.Lyla O’Donovan with her dad Paul O'Donovan.
Lyla O’Donovan with her dad Paul O'Donovan.

Surgeons gave the go-ahead for the operation, which she was due to have in March, after she was tested for coronavirus.

Lyla has also come through meningitis, been treated for hydrocephalus and had a shunt put into her head, all in the last four years.

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Paul, 35, is married to Kirsty, 34, and the family now lives in Ushaw Moor, near Durham.

Paul, who has been in the Army for 16 years, said Lyla was ‘over the moon’ with her medal from The Rifles and added; “She has always been around the Army and I have been in the Army longer than she has been alive.

"She was born in Germany and the Army has been a big part of all our children’s lives. It is exciting for them.”

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