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
ANGER AS BLOCKBUSTER ADVERTISES EMPLOYEES JOBS TO MAKE THEM “WORK HARDER”

Struggling home entertainment chain Blockbuster has been slammed for advertising its workers' jobs while they are still in them in order to scare them into working harder .

SUPER TOT – BIZARRE BABY PHOTO’S

Magical photos of your baby smiling for the first time are a priceless treasure for many a proud parent .

NAKED AMBITION: WORLD’S LARGEST SKINNY DIP

Bathers on a New Zealand beach stripped naked and took to the Pacific Ocean in an attempt to shatter the record for the world's largest skinny dip .

BABY AND BULLDOG'S ADORABLE FRIENDSHIP

Whether they’re sharing a bath or snuggled up during a nap, a baby and his bulldog buddy make an utterly adorable twosome .

TEMPLE OF ZOOM

WELCOME to the Temple of Zoom where you can “experience” sliding down a Mayan temple into shark infested waters .

GRAVEYARDS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

From the tails of fighter planes to black and white checked buildings, graveyards take different and unusual forms around the world .

WOMAN LOSES 8ST AFTER DITCHING CURRY ADDICTION

A woman who was addicted to eating curries has shed an impressive 8st after giving up her favourite food .

WOMAN DISCOVERS PREGNANCY…AS HER BABY BEGINS CROWNING

A support worker was stunned to discover she was eight months pregnant after she was rushed to hospital with 'stomach cramps' .

STUNNING AURORA BOREALIS REFLECTED IN ICELAND

CONTRACT CANCELLED, DO NOT SYNDICATE .

STUNNING ALICE IN WONDERLAND WEDDING RECEPTION

A couple celebrated tying the knot with a spectacular Alice in Wonderland-themed wedding reception .

PHILEAS FROG: KERMIT'S WORLD TRAVELS CONTINUE PREV

A Kermit the Frog toy made famous by travelling the world is still globehopping, having racked up an incredible 420,000 kilometres to some of the world's furthest flung places .

MOUNT BROMO METEOR SHOWER

A SPECTACULAR array of stars fills the night sky as they soar over this active volcano .