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
IT'S RAINING DOGS

WITH THE WIND blowing through their fur, you'll believe a dog can fly in these hilarious images .

WORLD'S CRAZIEST BEARDS

CRAZY BEARDS come into their GROWN when they've been twisted and waxed into shape .

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: SWIMMING WITH SHARKS

Armed with a snorkel, flippers and her skimpy bikini, an intrepid female free diver swims alongside an array of reef sharks .

THE F-ANT-ASTIC ARTISTS

Exibiting their superhuman strength these ants look ready to create an art attack by lifting pencils several thousand times their own weight .

NO ONE CAN BELIEVE MY HUNKY BOYFRIEND USED TO BE A GIRL

A woman was left shocked after her hunky boyfriend confessed he was actually born a GIRL .

WOMAN PARALYSED BY EX CAMPAIGNS AGAINST CYBERSTALKING

A woman who was cyberstalked before being shot and paralysed by her ex-husband is campaigning to raise awareness for stalking victims .

BATHING BEAR CUB

A carefree bear cub reclines in the water with his feet raised in the air .

AURORA BOREALIS ILLUMINATES LAPLAND

From vivid greens to glowing pinks, the colours of the aurora borealis fill the night sky above a snow covered Lapland .

REAL FRANKENSTEIN'S LAB

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

HER ROYAL i-NESS - THERE'S AN APP TO STEAL KATE'S STYLE

Have you ever wanted to emulate the Duchess of Cambridge's style? Well, now there's an app for that .

CHINESE FISHERMEN FISHING WITH RARE TECHNIQUE

SAILING peacefully across a river in the early morning light, a fisherman in China keeps a 1000 year old tradition alive .