St Austell Brownie to Celebrate Top Girlguiding Award at Red Carpet Event

A 10-year-old Brownie from St Austell who spent nine months in hospital relearning how to talk, walk and even breathe again will be stepping out on the red carpet next month to celebrate a remarkable achievement.

Lowenna’s Guiding Star

Lowenna Banks has been awarded the prestigious Guiding Star award, one of the highest honours in Girlguiding. The rare award is given to exceptional young members and volunteers in recognition of their courage and spirit.

“I feel so proud to have been given a Guiding Star award,” said Lowenna. “I took it into school to show everyone. I can’t wait to go to the Girlguiding Celebrates event as it will be so exciting.

“I love being a Brownie because I’ve got lots of friends there and I love earning badges. We do lots of fun things like doing crafts and going on adventures.”

She will join hundreds of fellow award winners at the Girlguiding Celebrates event at ODEON Manchester Great Northern on 11th October. Guests will enjoy a red-carpet welcome, party treats, light refreshments and a glamorous variety show with a Girlguiding twist.

📷Lowenna Banks in hospital in 2020

Life-Changing Challenge

In April 2020, Lowenna’s life changed when she experienced an unexpected bleed on her brain. She was airlifted by Cornwall Air Ambulance to Bristol Royal Hospital for Children, where medics discovered extensive damage to her brain stem and other areas.

Unconscious for five days, her parents were prepared for the worst. Against the odds, Lowenna regained consciousness but faced the huge challenge of relearning how to breathe, talk, walk, stand and sit.

She spent nine months in Bristol undergoing intensive neurorehabilitation, 150 miles away from her two sisters in St Austell. When she left hospital in January 2021, she brought staff to tears as she managed to walk out with the help of her physiotherapist.

Since then, Lowenna has made huge progress. She is back in school full-time and is at the same academic level as her peers.

📷Lowenna Banks holding her Guiding Star award with her mum Victoria, dad Daniel and two sisters Kerryn and Isla

A Family’s Pride

Her mum, Tracey Banks, said: “Lowenna has defied expectations, and we are amazed at how far she has come. She wasn’t meant to survive this on paper. She defied everything with a vengeance, and I put so much of that down to her personality and fighting spirit.

“She has come on leaps and bounds since being home. Lowenna no longer has to be tube-fed, and she can walk short distances without needing her wheelchair.

“However, there are many challenges. Lowenna needs constant adult supervision and has many health issues, including ataxia, which affects her co-ordination and balance, and she also has difficulty swallowing.

“Lowenna is a little fighter though. She is very resilient and works so hard every day to do things most people take for granted. It’s not always easy, but no one outside our family unit would know because she’s got such a positive outlook and philosophy.”

Brownies as a Lifeline

Lowenna had been a Rainbow at the time of her illness, but returning to Girlguiding as a Brownie became a major milestone in her recovery.

“Brownies is one of Lowenna’s biggest passions,” said Tracey. “She had always been such a strong-willed, highly motivated girl who didn’t stay still.

“So when she could finally return to Girlguiding after she came home from hospital, it meant the world to her.

“She loves being a Brownie and it is a really important part of her identity. She has been on a pack holiday, and the weekly meetings are a highlight of her week. If she is ever too tired to go in person, her leader sends her a Zoom link so she can still take part. If she had to miss a session it would break her heart.”

📷Brownie Lowenna Banks (centre) with older sister Kerryn who is a Guide (left) and younger sister Isla who is a Rainbow (right)

Recognition From Her Leader

Leader of 9th St Austell Brownies, Paula Volkner, who nominated Lowenna for the Guiding Star award, said: “I nominated Lowenna for a Guiding Star award because she truly is one special young lady. She has a steely determination for life and there is always a huge smile on her face. We could all learn from her outlook; she is so determined to push herself every day and achieve a bit more.

“Everything we do as a unit, Lowenna is there, whether it be cinema trips, Thinking Day, Christmas lights, carol singing or Brownie holidays. She loves life, and wants to experience all the fun of Brownies, just the same as her friends.”

📷Brownie Lowenna Banks