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
CAMOUFLAGED NORTHERN POTOO BIRD IS A MASTER OF DISGUISE
A northern potoo shows it is a master of disguise as it perches on a tree stump and blends into the bark .
SERENE ICEBERGS
A SERENE turquoise glow glimmers from underneath these powerful icebergs .
THIRSTY SQUIRREL TAKES A BREAK
DIPPING his head into the vase of water, this little squirrel takes a refreshing break from an afternoon of eating .
WOMAN SHEDS 15ST AFTER BEATING CHEESE ADDICTION
A woman has lost a massive 15st after beating her addiction to cheese .
THE WORLD’S MOST DANGEROUS AIRPORT
Those with a fear of flying and a ticket to Lukla Airport will want to look away now .
UNIQUE TREEHOUSES: A NIGHT UNDER THE STARS
WITH LUSH GREEN LANDSCAPES stretching out as far as the eye can see, you're in for a treat at these one of a kind treehouses .
TIME TRAVELLING PHONE APP
OFFERING a glimpse into the past, a mash-up of old and new photographs show how the world’s biggest cities have changed .
BATTY ABOUT BATMAN - MAN SPENDS £65K ON COLLECTION
Kevin Silva, 52 from Indiana in the USA, has spent an estimated £65K ($100K) on Batman trinkets over the years, and even keeps his 2,500-item haul in his very own basement 'Bat Cave' .
COLOURFUL FROGS PRACTICE THEIR FROG CRAWL
GLIDING through the water, these delightful frogs show off their vibrant colours as they practice their FROG crawl .
I LOST HALF MY WEIGHT AND BECAME A WOMAN
Pinning a purple flower into her bleach blonde hair, pretty Ava admired herself in the mirror .
‘PEG-LEG’ AMPUTEE OVERCOMES BULLIES TO MODEL LINGERIE
An amputee who was cruelly nicknamed 'peg-leg' by school bullies has conquered her insecurities to become a model .
I HID AWAY FOR YEARS AFTER DEVELOPING SORES ON MY FACE AND BODY - NOW I’M A DIVERSITY MODEL
A woman whose face and body was left scarred for life by angry sores, caused by Lupus, has become a diversity model .