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
BOY, 15, CAN ONLY EAT FRY UPS DUE TO ONE-IN-14M CONDITION

A schoolboy is the envy of his friends due to a one in 14-million condition which means he can only eat FRY-UPS to survive .

SOMERSET FLOODING

Villages on the Somerset Levels have faced weeks of flooding with no respite from the conditions in sight .

UK'S STRONGEST SCHOOLGIRL

THE UK’S STRONGEST SCHOOLGIRL attributes her success to the bendy-body condition that once left her body wracked in pain .

ADORABLE PENGUINS HATCH AT UK ZOO

HOPPING onto the scales, these adorable baby Humboldt penguins are ready for their first weigh-in .

STRIKING IMAGES RECREATE WORLD WAR II

Primed and ready for action, this collection of striking images from the battlefield could be mistaken for authentic photos taking during World War II .

CLIMBING BEAR CUB

BALANCING on top of a tree, this bear cub puts her climbing skills to the test .

CARE WORKER WHO BROKE SPINE IN ‘SHINING’ SEX ATTACK CALLS FOR TOUGHER SAFETY MEASURES

A care worker who broke her spine after jumping from a window to escape a sex attack at the hands of a resident has called for tougher safety measures to protect care staff .

HOPE FOR HOMELESS HEDGEHOG

SNUGGLED up in the hay away from the elements, this adorable hoglet has sought solace with a familiar friend .

AMAZING JOHNNY DEPP LOOKALIKE MISTAKEN FOR REAL DEAL

Whenever 46-year-old Melo Masi steps out of his front door in Berkshire, he risks being mobbed by strangers desperate for a selfie - all because of his incredible likeness to Hollywood megastar, Johnny Depp .

MY ANOREXIC CAT CURED MY ANOREXIA

A young woman who once weighed the same as 12-year-old girl has told how a severely malnourished cat helped save her life and beat her anorexia .

GLACIER ICE CLIMBING

COURAGEOUS climbers descend 400 metres as they manoeuvre their way through thick walls of ice .

SHIVERING SQUIRREL

THIS LITTLE squirrel tries to keep himself snug as snow starts to fall around him .