The water baby who swam back to life
AFTER Rosanna Ogden had open heart surgery at only six weeks old, her parents were told that physical activity could help her recovery.
It was then they discovered they had a water baby on their hands.
Only ten weeks after the operation, her mother Sanam took her to a swimming session for infants.
Rosanna proved to be such a natural that now, at the age of two, she can swim without armbands and has even passed her 15-metre test. Last month she became the youngest participant in a charity swim for the British Heart Foundation, raising more than £1,000 by covering 100 metres in stages.
‘I am so proud of her,’ said 27year-old Mrs Ogden at the family home in Chorley, Lancashire. After suffering breathing difficulties, Rosanna was diagnosed with rhab-domyoma – a tumour attached to her heart. Although benign, it was blocking the flow of blood.
Two days later the tumour was removed in an emergency eighthour operation at Alder Hey children’s hospital in Liverpool.
Mrs Ogden said that as Rosanna began her recovery in the swimming pool, her love of the water was immediately obvious. ‘All the other babies at the first session were screaming but she had no problem at all.’
Rosanna recently joined the Chorley Mini Marlins swimming club, where the next-youngest member is aged six.
Coach Mary Parkinson described her as ‘like a little fish’. She said: ‘To swim like she does at two years old is absolutely amazing.’