YouTube starlet Annabelle has heart for web stardom
Music video highlights work of children’s charity
A little girl born with a rare heart condition has become a YouTube star to raise awareness and vital funding to help other children.
Little seven-month-old Annabelle Main is featured in the #1in100 music video appeal to raise funding for children’s heart charity ECHO and the Children’s Heart Fund at the Evelina hospital in London where Annabelle spent the first few months of her life.
Annabelle was diagnosed with Congenital Heart Disease (CHD), requiring a minimum of three open heart surgeries before the age of five.
She was diagnosed at 20 weeks in the womb with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (half a heart) – this condition is so rare it only affects one in 5000 children born.
Mum Christine, from Law Village, said: “When myself and my husband Barry found out we were obviously very shocked and upset. It was a very confusing time.
“We did a lot of research into cardiac conditions but nothing can prepare you for it properly.”
Annabelle’s condition is so rare that they do not carry out the surgeries in Scotland so she was transferred to London’s Evelina Children’s Hospital for her to receive the care she needed to survive.
Annabelle was born at 38 weeks on January 5 this year but was too small at just 4lbs and wasn’t eligible for the first open heart surgery.
She has since had the first two guaranteed open heart surgeries and multiple cath lab procedures inbetween meaning at such a young age she’s had to be ventilated seven times.
As Annabelle had been in London since January, all of her family have missed seeing her growing up in person due to lockdown rules. She was only recently was allowed to finally come home.
“We are just so glad to have her home,” said Christine.
“She has been through so much since she was born. We haven’t been able to do all the things new parents get to do so it’s been nice just to get her out in the pram and things like that.
“Barry has been my rock throughout all of this. I don’t know what I would do without him.”
Annabelle is one of 77 children with heart conditions to be featured in the appeal video I Am Home, sung by Byron and the Stratford East Singers.
The song encapsulates the feelings many family members have when their child is in a vulnerable situation.
The song, together with the video created by an Evelina cardiology mum aims to help raise awareness of congenital heart conditions, which affect approximately one in every 100,000 children born in the UK
Christine added: “ECHO lost a lot of its funding because of coronavirus but hopefully people will see the video and see what the kids have went through.
“Quite simply if it wasn’t for the hospital or the charity Annabelle wouldn’t be here. It’s incredible some of the work the cardiology team do.
“This is a lifelong condition for Annabelle. She can’t be cured but she can be helped and her quality of life can be improved.”
You can view the video by logging onto https://youtu.be/rh03X9bbEqo