Her little body is covered in scars, but she's always smiling

"It's that red hair, she's got a fiery spirit. She may be tiny, but she's tough."

Destiny Precious Grove was born on August 7, 2011. She was delivered at just 25 weeks and six days and weighed only 1lb 14oz.

"She was like a tiny little sparrow," her 36-year-old mum recalls. "There were times when no one thought she would make it but here she is.

"She has suffered from cardiac arrest and collapsed lungs, she's had awful infections, more than 30 blood transfusions and countless operations. Her little body is covered with scars, but she's still smiling."

Destiny is not only a miracle baby because she has defied the medical odds but because she is also the result of a long and difficult road for Sam, who has suffered eight miscarriages, three still births and the death of child shortly after birth since 1996.

"It is devastating. You feel angry and empty and alone. You want answers and you think 'why me?' but I love my life and I am a devoted mum. I have no regrets because now I have two beautiful kids and they are my priority."

Full-time mum Sam lives in a semi-detached house with Destiny and her 13-year-old son Ashley Dean. The living room is decorated with pictures of Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn, there's a playpen in the corner with an embroidered "I love you mum" pillow and CBeebies is on the TV. But amongst the ordinary day-to-day objects are signs that Destiny remains a poorly little girl. There is medication and tubes scattered around, machines beep here and there and then there is the most obvious sign, the line that runs into Destiny's nose and is taped to her cheek. The youngster, who cannot eat and drink in the normal manner, must wear it 24 hours a day.

"She has chronic lung disease," explains Sam, who used to work in the care industry. "There's a very good chance when she's older she will have to have a lung transplant.

"She was born at New Cross Hospital at just 25 weeks and six days. They had to transfer her straight to Birmingham's Children's Hospital and she was in intensive care.

"I remember them saying 'she is seriously ill, there is not much hope'. I was scared it was going to link back to my past but I had some hope that they could do something.

"While there, she contacted necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) and they then discovered her bowel was perforated in three places. This is on top of her bronchopulmonary dysplasia.

"So she had to go to Birmingham Women's Hospital for a while and then back to the children's hospital.

"There were countless transfusions and operations, as well as infection after infection. It was a very stressful time."

The stress took a toll on Samantha's relationship with Destiny's father, Gary Hammett. In total, the family spent nine-and-a-half months living at Birmingham Children's Hospital in Ronald McDonald House, temporarily moving out of the family home in Highfields Road, Bilston, Wolverhampton. Ashley, who himself suffers from global development delay, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, Asperger's syndrome and autism, had to change schools for a while and Gary lost his job as a chef.

"The pressure of having a sick baby was so hard. All that stress and back and forth and financial pressure broke the relationship down. Gary went back to his native Ireland for a while to look for work and I was on my own again.

"All the while, Destiny was in and out of intensive care and other departments and on and off ventilators and oscillators."

Then, when Destiny was six months old, the youngster went into cardiac arrest and her lungs collapsed in the early hours of the morning."The doctors called me in to discuss the DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) forms and I agreed to switch off the life support if it came to it. It was the worst and most difficult decision I have ever had to make but I couldn't put her through it any more.

"They called in a specialist crash team from Leicester to help her and she was rushed from Birmingham to Leicester. I didn't follow right behind the ambulance because they said it would be on blue lights flashing all the way there and they may have to pull over on the way or she might even die en route. I remember that it was snowing as I drove there.

"When I arrived, I went to see her straight away and she had tubes in her neck. The tubes looked like a cassette and they were pumping blood in and out of her to oxygenate it. Remarkably, on the third day she pulled through and then it was back to intensive care in Birmingham."

But the struggle was not over, a short time later, Destiny contracted another virus while on the gastro ward at Birmingham.

"Even the doctors couldn't believe the extremity of her case. They had never seen anything like it. I was again told she wouldn't survive the day. I just looked at the clock, five minutes passed, 10 minutes passed. Every minute that passed was a bit more hope. As the hours went by, I started to think 'she might just make it'. She is a fighter, she is so strong and she did it. She pulled through again.

"That's why I chose her name Destiny Precious – it is her destiny to be here and she is precious to me. Life is precious, you have to take what you've got."

Sam suffered her first miscarriage back in 1996, three years later Ashley was born.

"I never really dreamt of being a mum. I wanted to be an architect or work in the arts and have a career. I wanted to travel. I never really thought I would be a mother but after that first miscarriage, I did think 'why me' and wanted answers, so I decided to keep trying." Between then and 2010, she suffered seven more miscarriages due to the repeated contraction of water infections.

She also suffered three stillbirths, all born prematurely. Baby Toni was born on September 11, 2001, Wesley on August 6, 2006, and Darcy on June 20, 2009. Baby Preston was born on May 3, 2010 but died three-and-a-half hours later. "Afterwards, you're angry. I was depressed and was suffering from panic attacks and anxiety. I wasn't living my life normally.I kept asking myself 'what have I done wrong?'. I wasn't smoking or drinking and I'd lost weight. I was doing everything right.

"I was just devastated and was worried about what people would say. I was worried about Ashley and what I would tell him because he was so excited each time. I had to find a way to explain it to him that he'd understand, I just used to say 'babies are like flowers and they take a lot of looking after. Sometimes the flowers don't make it but the next summer they grow back'. Me and Ashley would go and visit their little graves and he would put chocolate buttons on the graveside.

"But look, you can't have everything and I have got two little children who are everything to me. I am privileged to be their mum."

However, being a full-time single mum to two children with special needs is not easy. "I get about two or three hours sleep a night so there's a lot of Red Bull going on," Sam jokes.

"I never get any time to myself for things like going to the hairdressers or seeing friends. I never socialise or go to nightclubs – I never have done. Everything's about the kids and I'm up to Russells Hall Hospital every week with Destiny, three of four times."

Which is why her Citroen Picasso car was an absolute lifeline for the family. However, the car, along with Destiny's pram and oxygen tank, was stolen on March 30. Thieves broke through the front door of her home and stole the keys from inside – as well as the baby's nappy bag.

"It's not a car. It's a lifeline. There was a camcorder in the back with images of Destiny's first Christmas at home, which was such a happy time for me. I remember when I finally got her here after all that time I just used to sit and watch her breathe.

"I feel like saying 'look, I don't care about the camcorder, just send me the tape back'. They have stolen from a sick little girl. Who does that? And there was a picture of her on the dashboard so they would have seen she was poorly.

"I have gone without so much before but I really can't do without my car. There were blankets in there that I'd brought her home in, sat navs and a pink Silver Cross pram I saved for months to get. They're probably selling that on eBay for £100 as we speak.

"Now I'm struggling to get around, do the shopping and the hospital visits. I'm spending money that I don't really have on taxi fares. It's just very difficult at the minute, I'm very angry."

The police are now investigating and appealing for anyone with information to come forward. Detective Constable Chris Woodward, from West Midlands Police's Criminal Investigation Department, said:"This is an appalling crime which has left the victim struggling to take her daughter to hospital. It would have been obvious to the thief that the car transported a young disabled person as it was fitted with a car seat and an oxygen tank. Other items stolen from the victim held many treasured personal family photos stored on it of her daughter in hospital and her 13-year-old autistic son.

"We would implore anyone who has any knowledge of this crime to do the right thing and come forward to help us recover and return these valuables to the victim."

For now though, the strong little family are soldiering on.

"It has been tough and it's tough again now following the theft but we are happy," says Sam. "I've got no regrets and I've tried my best given my knowledge and experience. There is stress and I worry about bills and money and what the future may hold but then I just look at my beautiful smiling kids and I realise just how lucky I am."

Anyone who can help Miss Grove in any way can call 07592 124180 or email gazandsam2010@hotmail.co.uk

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