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
GIRL BEATS ANOREXIA AFTER MUM PLANS FUNERAL

A teenager has beaten anorexia after becoming so ill that her mum planned her funeral .

MUM LOOKED LIKE A MONSTER AFTER HAIR DYE ALLERGIC REACTION

A mum-of-one was left looking like a ‘monster’ after suffering a horrific allergic reaction to hair dye while pregnant .

NINE YEAR OLD GIRL'S 'PULLED MUSCLE' TURNS OUT TO BE CANCER

A nine year old girl nearly lost her leg after doctors initially misdiagnosed her bone cancer as a pulled muscle .

MOODY GORILLA

SAT with his arms folded and a cross look on his face, this Gorilla looks like he's had enough of the Christmas holidays already .

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 .

THE SECRET LIFE OF SQUIRRELS

PICKING up a tiny tea-pot with its paws, a little red squirrel struggles to prepare its morning tea .

PLAYFUL ELEPHANTS MAKE A SPLASH

WIDE EYED with a huge smile across her face, this little elephant is a picture of happiness .

ARRR-DORABLE ONE-EYED PIRATE KITTEN

AN ADORABLE one-eyed kitten has been dubbed the 'pirate cat' because of his pirate-like facial expressions .

FISH TSUNAMI

A TSUNAMI of predatory fish gather for their annual hunt .

OWNER REUNITED WITH PETLOG CAT AFTER KEEPERS HAND HIM BACK

A family who were refused the location of their missing cat under the Data Protection Act have been reunited with their moggie after the keepers handed him back .

HARVEY NICKS ADS ARE A WEE BIT TOO MUCH FOR SHOPPERS

High street giant Harvey Nichols has come under fire for a "disgusting" ad campaign that depicts a woman peeing herself .

WOMAN LEFT SCARRED FOR LIFE AFTER HER CHILDHOOD FRIEND BATTERED HER WITH A COSH AND BROKE HER NOSE IN VICIOUS ATTACK

A mum-of-two has revealed how her childhood friend of 20 years attacked her with a cosh and broke her nose in a vicious attack .