Leah Scholes: The Down fighter rising to every challenge

Dark humour has been her coping mechanism, while Leah Scholes has always refused to bend to even the most disheartening diagnosis.

She was just 15 when her doctor delivered the news that she had Stage 2 ovarian cancer, which was accompanied by the response: "Am I going to die?"

The Down minor player turned 18 last March and is currently being upskilled into a barista.

Her summer plans will consist of a part-time job in the local coffee shop and one of her other passions, backed by her trusty Canon camera.

"I'm just finishing my A Levels, I’m going to take a gap year and do photography," said Scholes.

"It’s something I have always had an interest in. I didn’t really want to go to school for another year, I wanted to explore the world around me.

"I like doing action shots for the football club and I did a few for an Armagh match recently. I want to take the pictures in Croke Park one day, if I could have a job in sport I would do it at the drop of a hat."

"I have had the heart condition since I was a baby but the way the doctors see it is the football is keeping me healthy and my heart healthy."

In April, Scholes was the super-sub for the Down minors, scoring a goal with her first touch to help them land the Ulster title. It was a remarkable journey to get that point, beginning with heart surgery when she was just three weeks old.

Scholes suffers from a congenital heart defect known as Pulmonary Artery Stenosis, meaning one of the valves in her heart closes over and she has get it stretched.

Her first heart operation was when she was a baby and her second could be next year. The condition also led to an irregular heartbeat but Scholes was never deterred, claiming that Ladies football was the ideal outlet.

"The NHS absolutely love me,