Manchester bomb survivor Eve Senior, pictured in iconic photo, defies the odds to perform in dance school’s Xmas show
A MANCHESTER bomb survivor, who appeared in what became one of the most iconic images in the aftermath of the attack, has defied the odds to perform in her dance school’s Christmas show.
In a photo that went round the world Eve Senior, 15, was seen with her jeans torn, a bandaged knee and blood streaks down her arm, following the blast which killed 22 people.
She was leaving the Manchester Arena after the Ariana Grande concert on May 22 when suicide bomber Salman Abedi struck.
She suffered 18 shrapnel wounds, burns and a severed nerve in her leg, an injury which recently flared up again and forced her back on to crutches.
When she returned to her dance group just weeks after the horror blast Eve, from Queensbury, West Yorks., broke down in tears, knowing it would be a long road back to the stage.
She was then dealt a blow by doctors who said she would not be able to perform in The Magic Of Musicals show.
But, following countless hospital visits and three operations she has proved them wrong took part in the performance at AKA Dance Studios in her home town last Saturday.
She said: "I just thought, no, it will be possible.
"Straight from when they told me I just knew I wasn't going to sit and watch the show. I'm not that kind of person, I wouldn't want to do that.
"Just because this unlucky thing happened to me, it doesn't mean that it can stop me from doing stuff I've done my whole life.
"I can't dance the same as I used to be able to and I won't be able to do that for quite a long time, but it's a good thing to be able to even do one dance."
Eve, 14 at the time, was leaving the concert with her mum Natalie and younger sister Emilia, 12 when suicide bomber Salman Abedi detonated a homemade device in the foyer of the arena.
Mum Natalie, 40, said they were "very, very lucky to be here".
She added: "It has been really, really hard. I think the hardest thing is that you can't do anything to make it any better. It's just time.
"At the beginning, having to watch her crawl up the stairs to get to bed, that was probably one of the hardest things.
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"For all of us as a family, it has been difficult. But then, she has been brilliant.
Eve now has physiotherapy and hydrotherapy sessions, as well as check-ups at Pinderfields Hospital for burns and scars.
Eve's dad Andrew, 42, a Conservative ward councillor, said the support from the village community had been amazing.
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