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
PHANTOM PREGNANCY NEARLY STOLE MY BABY DREAM

A young mum has told how a phantom pregnancy almost destroyed her dream of having a second child .

HOUSEWORK-OUT

STEPFORD wives from the 1950's and 60's are performing history's most sexist exercise programme .

SUMMER ARRIVES AT LAST

Britons have finally received some good news about the weather with temperatures expected to reach 30 degrees this weekend .

PERMANENT LIP FILLERS LEAVE WOMAN UNABLE TO SMILE

A woman has been left unable to smile after undergoing emergency surgery to remove infected lip fillers .

THE WORLD'S MOST UNUSUAL HOTEL COMPLEX

AN underground HOBBIT motel inspired by JRR Tolkien is just one of the unique places to stay at the world's most unusual hotel complex .

REAL FRANKENSTEIN'S LAB

WELCOME to the real Frankenstein's lab where carefully pickled creatures are left to stew in jars .

TAXIDERMY ART BOOK

A KITTEN'S teaparty and rat's playing dominoes are the bizarre creations by one of Britain's great eccentrics pictured in an incredible new book .

FIGHTING FOXES

A pair of snarling foxes go paw-to-paw and brawl after unexpectedly crossing paths .

SPRITE LIGHTNING CAPTURED IN AURORA LIGHTS

The aurora lights captured in Blair Nebraska, America - WITH electrifying purple and illuminous green brightening up the night sky, this is the rare moment a flash of 'sprite' lightening was captured on camera .

THANKSGIVING DINNER PREPARED BY ARTISTS

An artist has transformed traditional Thanksgiving dinners into mini-masterpieces .

HUBBY LEFT ME FOR BEING A COUCH POTATO...SO I LOST 13 STONE

Most women would jump at the chance to put on some lipstick, sling on a pair of heels and head out for a romantic meal with their other half .

BABY ELEPHANT HAS FUN IN THE SUN

SPLASHING around in a paddling pool, this little elephant soaks up the sunshine .