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
OBESE WOMAN DEVELOPED ANOREXIA AFTER LOSING 19ST
A former obese woman has told how she lost 19st, but was so terrified of gaining weight that she ended up developing an eating disorder .
MINI-CANE GUIDES BLIND LEXI
A BLIND school-girl whose growth has been stunted by a rare medical condition is finding her feet again with the help of a specially made mini-cane .
NATURE PAPS
NATURE PAPARAZZIS prove you don't have to be Justin Bieber or Cheryl Cole to attract a pack of photographers .
PLAYFUL OWL PLAYS HIDE AND SEEK
A cheeky owl fancies a game of hide and seek as it peeps out from behind a tree .
COLOURFUL KINGFISHERS DIVE FOR THEIR DINNER
A kingfisher’s bright blue and orange feathers glisten in the sunlight as the bird dives into a lake .
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 .
PUTIN'S TINY ARMY
Some parents would gasp at the thought of their children playing with a toy gun, but these Russian children are actually encouraged to take up real arms .
WOMAN REVEALS HOW SHE FELL INTO A BONFIRE AND WAS LEFT SCARRED FOR LIFE
A woman has revealed how she was left scarred for life after accidentally falling into a bonfire at a friend’s BBQ .
SECRET POOL IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DESERT
HIDDEN in the middle of the Mojave Desert, a secret oasis awaits intrepid travellers .
ADORABLE SHELTER DOGS STRIKE A ‘PAWS’ TO FIND FOREVER HOMES
A group of shelter dogs showcase their loveable personalities in a series of passport-style photographs - in the hope of finding their forever homes .
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 .
'DYING’ SCARE SAVES 3ST ANOREXIC
AN anorexic woman whose heart stopped after she starved herself to 3st has revealed that ‘dying’ for a minute helped shock her into recovery .