The MIAMI SOL is proud to honor Hannah Carr as its fourteenth SHERO of the season for her unwavering strength, ability and desire to live a fulfilling life despite battling a life-threatening disease.

Hannah, a Miami Springs Senior High School sophomore, who has defied the odds after being diagnosed with life-threatening Pulmonary Hypertension, was named a Miami SOL SHERO on Sunday, August 4. Hannah was recognized during the special SHERO halftime on-court ceremony during the 5 p.m. game against the Washington Mystics at the AmericanAirlines Arena.

Hannah’s mother Linda Carr, the President of the Pulmonary Hypertension Association, presented her daughter with an official WNBA basketball autographed by the entire Miami SOL team and an official customized SOL jersey with her name on it. When Hannah was six years old, she was diagnosed with Pulmonary Hypertension, a rare disease that causes the blood vessels to narrow, blood pressure to rise and decreases the ability of the right side of the heart to pump blood into the lungs. At the time, doctors were pessimistic telling Hannah’s parents that their daughter only had two more years to live. But thanks to great medical care—including having to wear a medicine pump around her waist 24 hours a day—and a positive outlook on life, Hannah has battled the disease, which does not have a known cure, and has learned to live with it on a day-to-day basis. In the process, she has refused to give up her love of sports and has not let her waistline medicine pump, which is camouflaged as a fanny pack, become an obstacle to her athletic success.

According to Hannah and her parents, participating in sports is what has helped the teenager along the way. Despite her illness, Hannah has not only managed to play for her high school’s basketball team, but she also became the first freshman to start a game at her school in more than six years. Other than that, she looks terrific and lives about as normal a life as one could expect. And even though she only started playing golf a year earlier, Hannah also helped her high school team make it all the way to the state tournament this year. She is also an excellent softball player and excels in many other sports, too.

SOL fans who would like to make a donation toward fighting the disease or who simply want to know more about it are encouraged to log on to www.phassociation.org.

Congratulations Hannah! You are an inspiration to us all and you serve as a beacon of hope for anyone whose way of life, hopes and dreams are threatened by any sort of ailment: You can persevere!