'Most visits she will squeeze our hands'- Update on recovery journey of Irish girl hit by a car

Dublin student, Hannah Leonard, was struck by a car in October of 2024 and is currently in hospital recovering from devastating brain injuries.

Hannah, while in Sicily, was struck by a car while out on a run to train for an upcoming Dublin Marathon and only several kilometres into the run, she was sent flying 15 feet across the road, landing on her head.

In January 2025, Hannah was flown back to Ireland via air ambulance and admitted to Beaumont Hospital in Dublin, where her recovery journey continues.

Hannah's dad Kevin has written a very emotional update on her Go Fund Me, explaining that she is slowly recovering.

"Each time I look into her eyes, I see my beautiful Hannah. The eyes are the window to the soul and each night I get to look into Hannah’s. The fluctuations in heart rate and temperature are less frequent, which is surely down to the adjustments in her shunt. It’s a delicate balancing act, but Hannah’s consultant is getting to know her and the cycles she seems to go through.

No one can give us a prognosis, Hannah’s condition is not unique but Hannah is unique. Hannah fights for every tiny little movement which takes a massive amount of effort, and you can see the exhaustion on her face. We live in the day, in the moment with her and still she amazes us. The words that still play like a broken record in my head, “it’s like her light is going out”. That was the only time we were given a prognosis which was 6 weeks after the accident but Hannah continues to defy the odds".

Dublin City University (DCU) SurfNSail club recently carried out a 24-hour sailing journey to raise money for Hannah, who was a former member of the club.

"After weeks of planning and preparation, our 24-hour sail is finally complete. It was a tough challenge. We faced unpredictable weather, strong winds, and more than a few moments where we thought we might have to call it off. But we pulled through, sailing non-stop in shifts through the night, keeping the boat moving and spirits high," the club said on their Go Fund Me page.

The surf club set up a Go Fund Me for Hannah's medical expenses and travel costs and has so far raised €4,735, surpassing their initial goal of €3,000.

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The club said that the idea behind the sail was simple, "to show support for Hannah in a way that reflected endurance and resilience values she demonstrates every single day. Whenever things got difficult, we reminded ourselves why we were doing this, and that perspective pushed us on."

The sailathon took place recently on April 18th to April 19th last, at the National Yacht Club.

As well as this, another Go Fund Me set was set up by Hannah's family, and a further €302,730 was raised for Hannah along with a heartbreaking message from Hannah's father, Kevin Leonard, as he gives updates on her recovery journey.

"It’s late in 2002 and the middle of the night, you stir in your cot and begin to cry. In an attempt to give your mom a break, I get up and go to you. Lifting you out of the cot and swaddling you in the blanket that your grandmother gave you. Clutching you in my arms and pacing the house in the hope that you will fall back to sleep while worrying that there may be something wrong. In time, the pacing and rocking slows and your crying eases, you’ve fallen back to sleep so I gently place you back in the cot and quietly step away. I never expected to be pacing rooms and worrying about Hannah again, not at this age," Kevin said.

Kevin provided an update on the Go Fund Me, which included: "This week took a most amazing turn last Friday. I get a message from Vanessa as I start to make my way to Beaumont, “we are going outside”. The medical team had decided that Hannah could go out in her specialist wheelchair with 2 nurses accompanying her. She got to do a lap of the Beaumont complex with Vanessa also by her side. I missed it, but there will be other days. In 6 months the only other time Hannah has been outside was when we made the journey home.

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"There is to be a new approach to hopefully removing the tracheotomy, Hannah having been breathing on her own since the surgery in December, the only need of the tracheotomy is to control a build up of fluid. Hannah’s movements, while slight some times, are beginning to become more controlled and frequent. Now most visits she will squeeze our hands as we hold hers."

"We are beginning to see some glimmers of hope as she has started to react to touch and is making some minor movement, what her recovery will look like is still unknown,

"Hannah is an amazing young woman and her strength and determination is what has kept her with us. She’s a fighter who is making her family prouder day by day at how resilient she is. She will be utterly devastated when she learns that she missed the Dublin Marathon which she was due to complete 10 years after her Dad completed it, both of them dedicating it to Hannah’s grandmother Caroline," Kevin continued.

The Go Fund Me can be found here.