As some will know, my niece Olivia is a twin. They were born 6 weeks premature and both needed neonatal intensive care in Stoke Hospital. Olivia was born with Mosaic Down Syndrome as well as a condition called complete Atrioventricular Septal Defect (AVSD). This is a heart defect where there are holes between the chambers of the right and left sides of the heart, and the valves that control the flow of blood between these chambers are not formed correctly. 

At 1 week and 3 days old she took a turn for the worse in Stoke hospital, where she developed deep vein thrombosis, nearly loosing her right leg. She was then transported to Birmingham Children's Hospital by the Neonatal Transfer Service (NTS) ambulance. 
At Birmingham Children’s Hospital, the level of care Olivia received was outstanding! Due to the AVSD Olivia was very breathless, mottled and struggling with feeding. At 2 weeks old, Birmingham Children’s Hospital decided that Olivia needed a Pulmonary Artery Banding (PAB) in complete AVSD.This was a surgery that placed a band on the valve of the heart that linked to her lungs, that stopped blood from pumping into them. After this surgery she spent 10 weeks in hospital between Birmingham Children’s Hospital and Stoke Hospital. Once she finally came home and she met all her family we were all overjoyed to have her home and reunited with her twin, Oscar. Since this day, Olivia has had endless appointments to check that the PAB was still working. 

A month before Olivia’s first birthday, she went back to Birmingham Children’s Hospital, for another operation. She under went the full AVSD repair. This operation is an open heart surgery, which means that her heart was stopped with a heart bypass machine taking over the job that the heart normally does.
The aim of the operation was to make the circulation of blood through the heart and lungs normal. A patch was put over the holes between the Atria and Ventricles. The single Atrioventricular Valve was then divided to make two effective valves. She came out of surgery and struggled the first week with breathing and developed an Arrhythmia, which was a very worrying time but in the second week with the help of Olivia’s brilliant Nurses and Doctors she turned a corner. 

Olivia continues to be NG fed due to tiredness and swallowing ability but has started to begin her journey of weening. She is a true heart warrior! She is the strongest, happy, smiley little girl we know. We are truly proud of everything she has over come, and although Olivia faces more surgeries in the future with a leaky valve, we know that under the care of Birmingham Children’s Hospital our baby will be in the best hands. 
We will always hold Birmingham Children’s Hospital forever close to our hearts for saving our Olivia! 

As a family we can’t thank Birmingham Children’s Hospital enough for what they have done for Olivia and so many other children like her or who are facing other battles, this climb is just a small step in showing that gratitude!

At Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity, we believe there’s always more we can do for our sick kids and that’s why we will always strive to do more for our patients and families. It’s our mission to raise the vital funds needed to make a real difference to all who use our hospital.Your support empowers us to take innovative approaches to treating some of the sickest children in the UK. Your fundraising enables us to make our hospital feel just like home. Your donations are helping us to find new ways to treat and cure childhood diseases.