Doctors said Andie would never be able to swim a lap. When she was 9, one moment changed everything.

Before she was even old enough to crawl, Andie had already undergone heart and eye surgery.

Born at 27 weeks and weighing just over 700 grams, she spent the first three months of her life in hospital.

When she finally made it home, just in time for Christmas, Andie was on oxygen and had a clip in her heart.

Throughout her childhood, Andie sat opposite doctors as the visits became increasingly discouraging.

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The now-15-year-old has a hearing impairment, a chronic lung disease, airways the size of a baby's, scarring from intubation tubes, and vocal cord palsy.

"I got told I would never be able to swim a lap of a 50-metre pool in my life, or do any sports," Andie recalled to Mamamia.

It was a discouraging prospect for Andie and her family.

"We kind of thought that she wouldn't get far, and wouldn't be able to do much in life," said Andie's stepmum Mellisa, who came into her life when she was eight years old.

"The hardest part was being told she couldn't do something, because she believed she couldn't do it."

Then, when Andie was nine, one moment changed everything.

"One weekend, we were at the pools," Mellisa remembered. "We just looked at her and she goes, 'Oh, I want to swim in that pool, but I've been told I can't'. So I dropped her in the deep end and made her swim it. She did it."

This was a turning point for Andie's confidence.

"She started doing little things, and she started to be intrigued," Mellisa shared. "We were like, 'Go do it!' She never done it before; no one had ever let her do it."

Knowing that Andie was more capable than she realised, her parents encouraged her to stay active.

"We just said to her that she's getting to the age now that she needs to be moving," Mellisa said. "She had two months to pick which sport she wanted. She never picked one; she thought she'd get out of it."

So the parents took matters into their own hands and signed the 11-year-old up for soccer.

"She hated us at first," Mellisa said. "Absolutely hated it, yelling at us all the time, 'I hate this sport. I hate it'. She now lives and breathes indoor and outdoor soccer, seven days a week."

Even though her breath runs out while playing the sport, Andie loves it. 

Andie has grown to love soccer. Image: Supplied.

"Once she started, there was no stopping her."

The 15-year-old is now part of her school's football academy, has represented her area in futsal, and this year, filled in for the Football Queensland Premier League women 23s team.

Now, she has been selected to represent Queensland in the all abilities league for the National Futsal Championship next year.

"I cried when I found out," Andie shared, adding that she wants to play to the highest soccer league she can before becoming a sports physio for professional teams.

In preparation, the teenager has been training weekly with the Queensland team and doing little athletics to build up her lung capacity. She also plays futsal socially and at school.

Though eager to make the trip to Melbourne for the competition, which will be held in January, Andie worries her dream might not become a reality. It will cost $3,000 to get her there, and that's money her family does not have.

To help Andie get to nationals, the soccer star's mum, Ashley, started a GoFundMe to help raise the necessary funds for the six-day trip.

"The $3,000 covers accommodation, her uniforms, her food and her air flights, the halls for training, the vehicle that gets them to and from the hotel to where they are playing, and the court hire," explained Mellisa, who hasn't worked in two years so that she could look after Andie.

The 15-year-old struggles with social anxiety, and has been bullied for her hearing aids and the way her voice sounds.

"She's attached to my hip and very dependent on me," Mellisa said. "I can't work due to her social anxiety. Last time I tried to work, Andie's anxiety got to a point that we couldn't even send her to school. I'm her comfort blanket, we sit down, we have talks, and lots of cuddles."

Feature Image: Supplied.