A much-loved patient has gone home in time for Christmas after a stay that lasted nearly two years at Maidstone Hospital.

Chelsea Kirby, 26, was discharged on Monday, November 26, after being admitted 23 months ago for aspirational pneumonia.

Miss Kirby battled the condition alongside living with cerebral palsy, scoliosis and Hirschprung’s disease - which affects the large intestine and bowel.

She had her first operation when she was just 11 days old at Great Ormond Street Hospital, and is unable to speak as a result of undergoing a tracheotomy.

During her stay, she suffered a cardiac arrest and underwent life-saving surgery at Tunbridge Wells Hospital after her body reacted to a feeding tube.

But she is delighted to be back at her family home with her mother Karen, 56, her father Richard, 57 and her sister Kirsten, 22, in Willowside, Snodland.

Miss Kirby's mum, Karen said: “Prior to her stay, Chelsea was going to college and going to the cinema and swimming and then this really knocked her for six.

“The last two years have been incredibly difficult for us but the care she has received here has been absolutely exceptional. They are caring, they work so hard and I couldn’t rate them highly enough.

“The team here have become our extended family and have made Chelsea’s time here so much easier. They are an incredible team and are all a joy to be around.

"They all have a laugh with her, they do her hair and make-up and can always be found singing along to Frozen in the ward.”

Miss Kirby will continue to visit the Trust for outpatient visits.

Karen continued: “She’s incredibly emotional and apprehensive about leaving and saying goodbye to everyone here but I know she is looking forward to going home.

"She misses her dog, she misses her sister, she misses her bedroom and going into winter it is the safest place for her to be.

"She’ll probably spend her first night home doing her Christmas list."

John Day Ward manager, Charlie Lee-Frost said: “She is going to leave a huge gap. Everyone knows who Chelsea is here – she’s like a local celebrity.

“We had some banners to say ‘sorry you’re leaving’ but the truth is, although we are gutted to see her go, we’re so happy she can go home and be with her family."