A HAMPSHIRE teenager is getting back on her feet after a gruelling operation to remove part of her skull – and is determined to raise funds for the hospital that helped her.

Saints fan Stephanie Marucci, 14, from Edward Avenue, Bishopstoke, suffers from a rare condition called Arnold-Chiari Malformation.

A bone at the top of her spine is growing bent, preventing fluid from moving around the brain and affecting her nerves.

The problem is so unusual that it took doctors several years to realise what was wrong.

It has only been thanks to London specialist children’s hospital Great Ormond Street that help for Stephanie has been found.

Friends and family of Stephanie, who goes to Wyvern Technology College in Fair Oak, have already rallied round the youngster – even organising for her to watch a Saints game from a corporate box earlier this year and meeting her hero Rickie Lambert.

They have now organised a ladies shopping night at the Pavilion on the Park in Kingfisher Road, Eastleigh, and are hoping to raise more than £1,000 for Great Ormond Street.

Tickets for the event, which is happening tonight from 6.30pm to 9.30pm, should ring Stephanie’s dad, Adrian on 023 8064 3506.