Toddler born with intestines outside her body
She may only be 16 months old, but Georgia Diamond has already had six operations.
The toddler was born with a rare abdominal defect called gastroschisis, which saw her intestines develop outside her body.
The condition has left her reliant on a feeding line into her heart - meaning she has never tasted food.
Her mother Lisa James, 25, found out about her daughter's defect - which affects one in 3,000 babies a year in the UK - when she was 20 weeks' pregnant.
‘Pregnancy was terrifying because I did not know what to expect,' she said.
‘At 20 weeks, the doctors told us Georgia's intestines were on the outside. I didn't really know what to think.'
Georgia, from Newport, south Wales, was forced to spend the first 14 months of her life at Noah's Ark Children's Hospital in Cardiff.
‘I was there every single day, from first thing in the morning until last thing at night, when she would go to sleep,' said Ms James.
‘She has had six operations since birth. The first was at Christmas after she was born. I was terrified.
‘We spent more time in hospital than at our real home.'
For the entire 14 months, Georgia was only allowed off her ward once - for an hour.
The ‹extreme› nature of her condition meant that doctors were unable to mend the defect.
However, her mother and father Scott Diamond were eventually able to bring her home in November last year.
This Christmas was the best one ever, said Ms James. «We had all the family at my house and Georgia had HappyLand toys and musical toys. But coping with Georgia's condition is by no means easy - with Ms James having to fix a line into her daughter's heart on a daily
The condition has left her reliant on a feeding line into her heart
basis.
I loved it because it was the first thing I was able to do for her. I had never even been able to change a nappy, said Ms James.
We have the equipment to look after her at home with a fridge that we keep all the fluids in. ‹It takes half an hour a day to set it up.Despite her condition, Ms James said Georgia displays normal› behaviour for children her age, including a desire to touch and play with objects around her.
But if she put something in her mouth and swallowed it that would be a concern, she said. It would probably sit in her stomach if she did not vomit it up, and we would have to take her back to hospital.
She added that she hoped Georgia would be able to undergo transplant surgery at Birmingham Children's Hospital within the next two years.
Mr Diamond described coping with Georgia's condition as ‹hard work› - but said the couple had ‹got used to it›.‘It's still not nice but we just have to get on with it,' he said. ‘Georgia is growing up and she is always getting into trouble.
‘Hopefully when she goes to Birmingham, the doctors will be able to do something for her.
‘I hope she will be better one day and able to live a normal life.'
(Daily Mail, London)