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
JUSTIN BIEBER FAN LOSES 7 STONE TO BE HIS 'GIRLFRIEND'

Bryanna Debinder, 20, from Pennsylvania in the USA, has lost 7 stone in order to impress her idol .

PEEK-A-BOO FISH: BRIT SNAPPER MAKES RARE FIND

A Brit photographer has captured one of the world's most camera-shy species of fish - during a game of underwater peek-a-boo .

DADDY DAY CARE: CARDINALFISH FATHER CARRIES EGGS IN MOUTH

It’s a role reversal in the Visayan Sea as HUNDREDS of tiny, glistening eggs are carried around inside the mouth of their cardinalfish father .

FRILLED LIZARD SINGS FOR THE CAMERA

A frilled lizard appears to be belting out a tune as it sits in a tree with its mouth open wide .

THE DEVIL'S OWN GOAL: CLUB RENAMES STADIUM IN SATAN'S NAME

football club has scored an own goal after it had to embarrassingly rename its stadium in honour of the DEVIL .

CHEEKY WHITE TIGER CUB

WITH HIS PAW covering his mouth, this cheeky cub looks amused by something .

MONKEY BUSINESS

GETTING behind the camera, this monkey practices his photography skills on his friends .

THE UNDERWATER WONDERLAND

SEA LIFE and greenery in one shot show nature at its very best .

WOMAN BEATS BDD BY BECOMING UNDERWEAR MODEL

A woman who suffered from body dysmorphic disorder has overcome her illness by becoming a LINGERIE MODEL .

CHUCKLING SEAL

CHUCKLING away, this little seal appears to find something hilarious .

KISS OF LIFE TODDLER

A toddler has shrugged off death an incredible 10 times thanks to his parents who revive him with the kiss of life every two weeks .

WINKING SQUIRREL

BASKING in smug satisfaction, a confident squirrel gives a wink to the camera .