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
SCOTTISH COUPLE MARRY INSIDE BEAUTIFUL ICELANDIC CAVE
BEAUTIFULLY lit by the dim glow of lanterns, a cave in Iceland is transformed into the perfect wedding venue .
NHS CALL HANDLER SAVES OWN LIFE TO WALK DOWN THE AISLE
An NHS 111 call handler who was forced to save her own life after contracting sepsis has walked down the aisle at her dream wedding .
I LIKE MY SALMON ROAR!
A BROWN bear wades through waters in Alaska and waits for his lunch .
SISTERS BOTH HAVE 1 IN 3.5M DISEASE THAT IS TURNING THEM TO CRYSTAL
Meet the sisters who have both been diagnosed with a one in 3 .
WOMAN ‘DIED’ GIVING BIRTH TO HER SON DUE TO HER 19ST FRAME SO SHE LOST 8ST 13LBS AND NOW SHE’S A SIZE 8-10
At 19st and eight months pregnant, Ashley Whitfield, went into hospital to have her baby son, Isaac, delivered by emergency C-section .
CHILD SHEPHERDS OF THE SIMIEN MOUNTAINS
CARRYING a fully grown goat on his back, this five-year-old boy is a child shepherd in the mountains of northern Ethiopia .
ROYAL FAIL: POSTIE’S CAT FACES EVICTION DUE TO HEALTH & SAFETY RULES
The Royal Mail moggy, who is now facing eviction from the premises – MEET the Royal Mail moggy facing eviction from the sorting room by an ‘elf n’ safety diktat .
£10,000 REWARD FOR JOHN ANSLOW
Pictures of John Anslow a prisoner who escaped from a prison escort van in North Worcestershire Monday, 23 January .
WINKING SQUIRREL
BASKING in smug satisfaction, a confident squirrel gives a wink to the camera .
MINI WONDERS OF THE WORLD
WONDERS of the world have been transformed into their mini-versions in a seven-year round the world adventure .
LOOK, NO HANDS! MAN CONTROLS VEHICLE USING HIS BRAIN
A Birmingham man inspired by sci-fi film Wall-E, has created a one- wheeled vehicle, controlled by signals from his BRAIN .
TEMPLE OF ZOOM
WELCOME to the Temple of Zoom where you can “experience” sliding down a Mayan temple into shark infested waters .