Fundraising appeal launches for poorly youngster

Emma Austin is trying to raise £1,250 to take her eight-year-old daughter Olivia to Disneyland and to see Little Mix in concert.

The Harlescott Junior School student, from Shrewsbury, was just three days old when she had open heart surgery and then spent three months in Birmingham Children's Hospital.

In that time she went into cardiac arrest, and now eight years later Olivia has heart failure and doctors have said the next step would have to be a mechanical heart pump fitted or a transplant.

Mrs Austin, 37, launched the appeal which so far has raised £935.

The mother-of-six said: "Olivia was born with a heart condition called transposition of the great arteries and was rushed to Birmingham Children's Hospital at at three days old they performed open heart surgery.

"She was in hospital for three months and during that time she went into cardiac arrest.

"They found out the left side of her heart wasn't pumping very well and her coronary arteries were abnormal so they had to perform more surgery to correct that but it didn't help her.

"She's been going to Birmingham Children's Hospital her whole life and in the past six months her condition has deteriorated quite rapidly, the left side of her heart has stopped pumping and she's in heart failure.

"They said there's no more they can do to help her heart, she's going to need a mechanical heart pump and then eventually a heart transplant which they can't 100 per cent say will work and it's the last resort."

When Olivia was four years old she had a wish granted by the Make-A-Wish Foundation and went to Disneyland.

Ever since she has been asking to go back. So now Mrs Austin is trying to raise the funds to grant Olivia's wishes.

Mrs Austin said: "She loved Disneyland and since she's been asking to go back so that's why I set up the fundraising page."

For more information, or to donate, visit gofundme.com/olivias-holiday