A little girl born with multiple heart diseases who was left fighting for her life has astounded doctors by surviving.
Molly Jackson’s parents were left feeling devastated when doctors told them their newborn daughter would only live to the age of three.
Eight weeks after being born Molly was diagnosed with having congenital heart disease (CHD) which affects up to eight out of every 1,000 babies born in the UK.
Due to Molly’s CHD, she has numerous heart diseases including pulmonary atresia, ventricular septal defect (VSD) and major aorta pulmonary collateral arteries (MAPCAS).
In addition to this, Molly also has scoliosis; her spine has a sideways curve which makes it more difficult for her to breathe.
The combination of these conditions leaves Molly with difficulty breathing, extreme tiredness and fatigue, she struggles to eat and often uses a wheelchair to get around.
People with CHD often require treatment throughout their life and specialist care due to the complexity of the condition.
With Molly’s case being particularly severe, doctors told her parents she would only live for three years requiring several surgeries.
Molly’s dad Anthony, a 32-year-old from Newcastle, told UNILAD the news left them heartbroken:
Our world almost fell apart and we blamed ourselves but we were reassured it was nothing but sheer bad luck. No DNA links could pinpoint it to any of us.
But seeing her lifeless on an ice bed to cool her body down was traumatic and scary but she had and still does have some of the best cardiac surgeons in the country at her side at the Freeman Hospital.
She has had two open heart surgeries and needed a tracheostomy at another point because her lungs weren’t coping with the heart defect. She needed a machine to breathe for her.
Molly has also had multiple cardiac catheters, so many I can’t remember, to have stents and ballooning.
Not letting anything stand in her way, now eight years old, Molly has truly defied all the odds.
An ‘independent but quite timid’ girl, Molly has ‘a very inquisitive mind with a keen interest in how the world works and why things are the way they are’.
Dad Anthony also added Molly loves nothing more than playing with her dolls, singing and messing around with her younger sister Evie, who is five.
While today she still struggles with her heart problems which especially affects the time she spends with friends, Molly is a happy and healthy child.
Anthony concluded:
Molly can’t run or keep up with her friends and sometimes asks us why she has a poorly heart which really breaks my and my wife’s hearts.
Overnight she has a feeding pump to help with her calories as she doesn’t eat enough herself. Her heart working hard burns extra calories.
But she doesn’t let these health issues stop her from being the funny bright positive and thoughtful person she is.
Molly knows her limitations and her determination is frankly staggering. She has such a beautiful heart, kind nature and always sees the best in everything.
Molly sounds like quite the little girl and we wish her the best in the future!
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