A GRIEVING Basingstoke mum has shared a moving story of her daughter in the hope of keeping her memory alive.

Val Dowd chronicled the journey of her daughter, Catherine, from birth through to her death, and has paid tribute to the children's hospice which supported her family throughout.

Catherine died of pneumonia and cerebral palsy aged just 14 on January 4, 2014.

She was born five weeks early on September 2, 1999, weighing just 2lbs 12oz, and was whisked away to an incubator in Neonatal Intensive Care.

Val said: "That day, ours and our three-year-old son's lives changed forever. As well as parents and siblings we became carers. We suddenly found ourselves in a world out of our control, everything we knew about being parents changed forever."

At two days old Catherine developed septicaemia and was critically unwell, suffering from seizures and requiring ventilation.

Her family were told to expect the worst, and if she survived she would probably have brain damage.

Val said: "It was an intense and frightening time."

Thankfully Catherine recovered and she left Basingstoke hospital after five weeks.

But Catherine took a turn for the worse when at four-months-old she developed a chest infection and was back in Basingstoke hospital.

Val was told that Catherine was showing signs of brain damage and neuro abnormalities.

Over the next two years she suffered with numerous chest infections resulting in hospitalisation, and feeding had become difficult, sometimes taking several hours a day.

Val said: "She woke eight or nine times a night and cried endlessly. She had days when she was so sick she would have seizures. We were exhausted and felt helpless, as she was clearly in pain, not thriving and not developing."

Aged two-and-a-half Catherine had a feeding tube fitted to reduce the number of chest infections, and she began to have longer periods of being well.

At three-years-old an MRI scan showed Catherine had widespread brain damage, which explained why her development was not progressing.

Her family was told she would not walk or talk, and would have profound learning difficulties.

Val said: "This prognosis proved to be accurate although what no-one could have predicted was the strength of her character, her sense of humour and her unconditional love for family and friends, which lit up the lives of all who knew her."

When Catherine was five she started attending Naomi House Children's Hospice, which her mother described as "one of the most wonderfully positive aspects of Catherine's life."

She added: "Naomi House was a huge source of support for the family, lots of fun for Catherine, and gave us the opportunity to take Tom away on holidays which we could not do with her."

Aged11 Catherine was diagnosed with respiratory problems and she was fitted with a pharyngeal airway to assist her breathing.

In June 2013 Catherine suffered a cardiac arrest.

Val said: "We were told it was likely she would not survive and if she did she would be further brain damaged and wouldn't be the Catherine we knew.

"She did recover and was most definitely our lovely Catherine, but never regained her health to the level it was before."

She said Catherine's last few months were hard, adding: "I think the term rollercoaster is over-used but does give the correct image of our lives hurtling along a track over which we had no control and involved a few good spells when our hopes would be raised, only to then come crashing down."

By mid-December Catherine was permanently at Naomi House Hospice.

Val said: "It was wonderful to see how they made her last days fun. Naomi House is a happy place, buzzing with activity, both noisy and gentle."

Catherine returned home on Christmas Eve and again for the New Year before returning to the hospice where she died on January 4 last year.

Her mother said the hospice offered invaluable support, adding: "Naomi House really were there for us during the good days, difficult days and last days and we cannot thank them enough for years of being there for Catherine and our family."