Heart-op Danni's a real battler

Little Danni Manley may only have half a heart but it doesn't stop the Wednesfield youngster having plenty of courage.

Having come close to death at just six weeks old, doctors realised she had a rare heart condition which means only the right side works. The nine-year-old will one day face a transplant so she can have a heart which can support her body in adulthood.

The Wodensfield Primary pupil has Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, which affects one in 5,000 births.

The left side of her heart cannot do its job – but after a undergoing a series of operations the blood has been redirected by her body so that everything works through the right.

During her first operation her parents were left fearing for her life after she crashed a few times following the complicated procedure to improve blood flow around her body.

Further operations have followed but her new-look heart is unlikely to sustain her when she becomes an adult, meaning she will have to have a transplant.

But despite all she has already gone through and the challenges she faces, her mum Kim says Danni will be ready to get past anything.

The 31-year-old who also has two other daughters, Jamie, aged 11, and Toni three, said: "She is a real battler and will try anything and everything, but she can get fustrated when she tries to do things like sport but finds she tires easily.

"She had her first operation at six weeks, then another at eight months and one when she was four. It was absolutely heart breaking and people would say to me 'I don't know how you cope' but you have to and we had a lot of support from family.

"We know that she will probably have to have a transplant but we try not to worry about that now – we will deal with it when it happens."

Meanwhile Kim, husband Alan and daughter Jamie have just taken part in a 5k run for children's heart charity Little Hearts which has helped Danni. They raised nearly £150 through the event at Shugborough Hall.