BRAVEHEART: BABY GIRL SURVIVES HEART SWELLING TO SIZE OF ORANGE

A baby girl has become the youngest British patient to receive a life-saving cardiac operation after her heart swelled to twice its normal size within days of her birth. Little Phoebe Whittle was just four weeks old when medics had to battle to save her life from a congenital defect which gave her tiny heart only a third of the oxygen it needed to work. Mum Charlotte 27, and husband Carl, 32, looked on in horror as she failed to breathe normally and turned blue within days of being born. Phoebe had been born with ALCAPA, Anomalous Left Coronary Artery from the Pulmonary Artery, that meant the artery to her heart muscle was connected incorrectly, starving it of oxygen.As a result, Phoebe's heart ballooned to twice its size - swelling from the size of a walnut to the size of an apple. But incredibly, the tiny tot - dubbed 'Braveheart' by her proud parents, made a stunning recovery following groundbreaking surgery at Alder Hey Children's Hospital

Other great stories
WIDOW AWARDED £300K AFTER EX CONNED HER OUT OF THOUSANDS

A widow whose love rat ex-boyfriend left her homeless has had the last laugh after a judge ordered her ex to pay back £300,000 .

SHOOTING IN WALSALL, TWO DEAD

Two people have been arrested after a man and woman were shot dead at a house in the Midlands in the early hours of this morning .

Korean Mass Games

These are the amazing close up pictures of North Korea's mass games - after photographers were previously banned from taking shots so close to the dazzling formation dances .

GONE IN SIXTY SECONDS GANG JAILED FOR 12YRS

A gang whose £1-million supercar scam has echoes of the film Gone In Sixty Seconds has been jailed for a total of 12 years .

FIVE-WEEK-OLD NEWBORN IS UK’S YOUNGEST BEAUTY PAGEANT BABY

A five-week-old newborn from Fife has become the UK’s youngest beauty pageant baby .

BRAVE TOT ALLERGIC TO SUN

HOTSPOT MEDIA - BRAVE TOT ALLERGIC TO SUN: Leighton Brownrigg, 2 .

MESMERISING FUNGI

With luminous colours and alien- like features, these magical mushrooms look like they belong on another planet .

CUDDLY TRAVEL BUNNY IS STOLEN AFTER JOURNEY AROUND THE WORLD

An intrepid explorer hopes to be reunited with his travel partner, after his cuddly toy companion was stolen .

DAREDEVIL DINING: THE 160FT HIGH RESTAURANT

Suspended FIFTY metres in the air, this is the last place that you would expect to find a fine dining experience .

I BLAME MYSELF FOR MY DAUGHTER’S ANOREXIA

WENDY Randall, 16, from Kent is now training to be a bodybuilder after recovering from anorexia .

SUNBATHING OTTER

A lazy otter finds the ideal spot to soak up the sun and sleep off his lunch .

PUPPY RUN OVER BY TRAIN GIVEN NEW LEASH OF LIFE

A tiny puppy who lost his front legs after being hit by a train has been given and new LEASH of life with a set of wheels .