At the start of National Heart Month, reporter Kate Wilson spoke to the parents of an amazing little girl who defied a bleak prognosis and reached her first birthday on New Year’s Day.

JO AND Ben Haywood were told their daughter Grace was unlikely to reach her first birthday due to a serious heart condition, which was diagnosed while she was still in the womb.

It was during a scan at 20 weeks that doctors told them they were struggling to find their daughter’s heart.

Just two weeks later, after a further consultation, it was confirmed there was a problem and doctors diagnosed hypoplastic left heart syndrome, which meant Grace was missing the left ventricle – one of the chambers in the heart.

It meant that the joy of her birth was overshadowed by concern that she may not make her first birthday because of the severity of the condition.

She was transferred to Bristol’s Children’s Hospital intensive care unit at birth and underwent two open heart surgeries within five months – the first taking place just a week after birth.

Despite undergoing such intensive operations at a young age, Grace is now doing well and celebrated her first birthday on New Year’s Day.

Jo said: “Grace has already gone through so much in her short life, and I still can’t quite believe that she has been able to celebrate her first birthday.

“We found out about her condition before she was born, and we are so thankful that she is such a strong little girl.

“Since Grace’s birth, the specialist staff in Bristol’s children’s cardiac team have gone above and beyond to help her, and I am so grateful.

“She is a fighter and is now doing really well, we’re really looking forward to this year.

“Who knows what the future will bring, in years to come she could even be heading off to university.”

When she reaches the age of three, Grace will need further surgery but Jo is optimistic about the future, acknowledging that while her daughter will lack the same energy as her friends, she should be able to start school, and happily continue her life into adulthood.