Mum’s memory box for the baby with half a heart
A MOTHER has told of her heartache at having to create a memory box of her daughter’s milestones after she was born with half a heart.
Lilly- Anna Forrest has a rare condition called hypoplastic left heart syndrome ( HLHS), which means half her heart does not pump blood to the body. She is unlikely to live past young adulthood.
Her mother Donna, 25, of Preston, Lancs, is creating a box of milestones for Lilly- Anna to help explain her condition as she gets older, and remember her when she is gone.
“I keep everything and take photos every day. I want to be able to show her it all when she’s older and starts to ask questions,” said Donna.
“Her condition is so severe I won’t leave her side. She could have heart failure in the night. As a new mum you don’t think you are going to be talking about funeral plans.”
Doctors realised there was a problem with Lilly- Anna’s heart after Donna, a former shop worker, went for her 12 week pregnancy scan. Since she was born last September she has had two major operations.
“At first all I did was cry and cry, now she is here I am positive all the time,” said Donna. “She looks just like a normal baby and is very happy.”
Donna and Michael Cottam, 31, Lilly- Anna’s father, want to raise awareness of HLHS and funds for Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, Liverpool, where she is a patient, and the British Heart Foundation. To donate go to justgiving. com/ Michaela- Tymon