LONDON HEART OP FOR LITTLE SORCHA

Cute Sorcha has a hole in the top chamber of her heart measuring 22 millimetres.

Sorcha’s mum, Poppi Lennox, told The Times this week that she is nervous thinking about the operation, but she admitted that she knows her daughter, who is 19 months old, will get ill if she doesn’t have the surgery.

“When Sorcha was born we were told that she had a murmur in her heart,” explained the Coleraine mum.

“When she was six months old, we met a consultant from the Royal [Victoria Hospital, Belfast] and he scanned her and told us that she actually had a hole in her heart.

“At that point we hoped that it would close over naturally, but a scan four months later revealed that the hole had grown, and we were told that Sorcha would need surgery.

“Looking at Sorcha you wouldn’t know that she has this condition,” explained Poppi. “She is very small for her age, but she looks healthy.

“Because there are no facilities here in Belfast or in Dublin, we are having to go to London for the operation.

“We have been told that the operation will last between two and four hours, and after Sorcha will be in intensive care, and will remain in hospital for a further week.

“I just want to get her through the operation,” admitted the anxious mum.

Sorcha will travel to St Thomas’ Hospital in London with her parents on June 28. Her surgery will then take place two days later on June 30.

Poppi, and Sorcha’s dad Paul, have been getting support from local charity Children’s Heartbeat Trust.

“When we were told about Sorcha’s condition, I thought that we were the only parents going through this,” explained Poppi.

“But there are quite a few children locally that have the condition, so it’s reassuring to speak to other parents.”

The young couple have been fund raising in a bid to give something back to the charity, who will be helping them with expenses as the local toddler travels to London.

“I just want to thank everyone who has supported us in any of the fund raisers,” said the young mum.

“We just felt it was right to give something back to the charity and to help other children like Sorcha.

TIMES NEWS DESK

Call us with your story: 028 703 57610 or email our News Desk: [email protected]