A BACK garden music festival brought a beaming smile to the face of an 18-year-old girl in constant pain from Cystic Fibrosis on Saturday.

Festival-mad Kate Hennessy suffers from a particularly debilitating form of the disease and is about to undergo tests for a vital lung transplant.

An army of family and friends pulled together to stage Hen Fest at her Wimborne home and brighten up her daily routine of 54 pills, inhalers and physiotherapy.

The Corfe Hills pupil is determined not to let CF stop her having fun and battled to get to the Larmer Tree festival, despite a chest infection that saw her crack a rib through coughing.

Kate, who’s also off to Endorse it in Dorset and Reading festivals, said: “I’d been in hospital and could have done with staying in a bit longer – my friends were pulling me round in a little trailer.

“But I decided living was more important. I try and cram in as much as possible because the chances are that I will not be around for that many years.

“If you are ill you still need to have a life. There’s a difference between life and living.”

Diagnosed with CF, which clogs organs with mucus, at four months old, Kate’s health has deteriorated rapidly in the last four years. She spends about half her time in South-ampton General Hospital.

Most sufferers would be treated at Poole, but Kate gets unusual infections and reacts strangely to treatment.

Parents Gail and Mike, of Oakley Road, came close to losing her during a recent bout of liver and kidney failure.

Her lungs now operate between 20-30 per cent, so a new pair could buy her about five years.

“I know that even on the list I may not get a transplant in time,” Kate told the Daily Echo. “There would still be limitations and it wouldn’t be the end of all my problems.

“But it’s the only thing that might be able to really help. Being able to walk up the stairs and not getting out of breath is just such a dream.”

The 170-ticket Hen Fest, in aid of the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, was made possible by volunteers and their generosity.Special thanks went to Keystone Breweries and the Federation of Master Builders.