Dundee mother speaks of baby Ryleigh’s brave fight since birth

City woman reveals her ‘terrifying’ experience

A DUNDEE newborn baby with five holes in her heart has been described as her mum’s “warrior princess”.

Little Ryleigh Stevens was fighting for her life from the moment she was born.

At just three days old, the Douglas youngster was in intensive care with doctors unable to figure out what was wrong with her.

After multiple scans and reviews of images, they discovered Ryleigh had been born with a ventricular septal defect and multiple atrial septal defects.

Her tiny heart — roughly the size of a walnut — had five holes in it.

Mum Valerie Christie, 38, told the Tele of her daughter’s fightback from the brink — although she admitted she fears for her future because of the condition.

She added: “I didn’t know there was anything wrong with her until she was four days old.

“Her breathing was really fast, her chest was going up and down and she was taken to the special care unit in Ninewells.

“It was the most terrifying experience of my life but I knew that I needed to be there for her.

“I didn’t even have a chance to think about what could happen because I knew I had to be there for my baby — I was all she had.”

Valerie said she got the “shock of her life” when she went to Ryleigh’s bedside at 6am and found the cot empty.

Doctors had taken her to ICU because of complications.

Ryleigh, now 11 weeks old, was

Valerie with Ryleigh at their Douglas home.