Ella-Louise McGown weighed just over one pound after being born three months premature.

The little girl spent the first weeks in an incubator fighting for her life and when she was allowed home, relied on an oxygen tank for 18 months to help her breathe.

Now five-years-old, Ella-Louise has overcome all odds. She is a healthy weight and is doing well at school where she has just started her second year.

Her proud mum Katrina Dean has now nominated her for a Ward and Partners Children’s Award in the Triumph Over Adversity category.

Katrina, 28, of Gillingham, had to have an emergency C section after falling ill with pre-eclampsia 26 weeks into her pregnancy.

Ella-Louise, her first born, spent weeks on lifesaving equipment at the Oliver Fisher special care baby unit at Medway Maritime Hospital.

Katrina, of South Shore Ocean Drive, said: “It was awful. She was whisked away. I wasn’t able to see her for 24 hours because I was being monitored closely.

“I could not hold her for weeks and because I gave birth so early, I soon ran out of milk to feed her. She was basically in hospital for her first four months.”

Now at St Mary’s Island Primary School, she first attended Smilers nursery in Wainscott where her mum is a supervisor.

Katrina said: “She even had to take her oxygen into class. But she did not let anything get her down.”

As if that was not bad enough Katrina went through the same again with her second daughter Matilda, who was born five months ago.

She said: “Ella-Louise was poorly for a long time and had to go to King’s hospital in London for a hernia operation when she was just weeks old.

“Fortunately Matilda’s was a very different journey. Although she was born early I knew what to expect and was closely examined throughout.”

Katrina, who lives with partner Andrew McGown, 30, a postman, said: “Fortunately Ella-Louise won’t remember much of the early days.

“She is a tough cookie and I hope one day she’ll look back and think I deserved to be nominated for that award.”