Hayley Sands celebrates her fourteenth birthday today and was invited as a special guest to Adelaide Oval for her beloved Crows' first training session at the venue.

It was a very different story last year as she spent her thirteenth birthday across the road in the intensive care unit at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

Hayley damaged her neck doing a simple dive into her Kings Park backyard swimming pool. The Cabra student spent six months recovering in hospital, with a selection of Adelaide Crows players taking the time to visit the young Crows fanatic during her recovery.

Hayley‘s love of the Crows blossomed after the visits and she has just become a member for the first time.

Yesterday she pointed out her seats to Patrick Dangerfield, who promised if he kicked a ”cracker of a goal” he would find her in the crowd and salute her.

Hayley is now a tetraplegic which means she has complete or semi-paralysis in all four limbs. Her seats will be in the wheelchair area of the Max Basheer stand on level one.

Jason Porplyzia was one of the players who met her in hospital during her long recovery and he was thrilled to see her again yesterday.

“It’s been fantastic to see Hayley here today and to see how far she has come,” Porplyzia said.

“It's been really uplifting for the guys to see her and help make her birthday special.

"To know she's joined as a member for the first time and will be in the stand this season is really cool.”

Last month in Melbourne Hayley became the youngest person in Australia to have a double nerve transplant surgery which doctors hope will increase the movement in her hands.

Hayley is hoping it will allow her to wave her 19th man flag wildly at Adelaide Oval this year.

Join Hayley as part of the 19^th Man for 2014. Click here to browse our 2014 Membership packages.