Grace arrived into the world at full term, a picture-perfect 7lb 7oz baby girl who was sent home within 24 hours of birth. Her parents, Jodie and her husband, were over the moon — everything had gone exactly as planned and their family felt complete. For the first few weeks life was blissful. Then, on Christmas Eve, everything changed in the blink of an eye. Grace’s breathing suddenly became laboured. Her lips took on a worrying blue tint, her hands and feet felt ice-cold, and she was clearly working much harder than normal just to breathe.

Panicked, the family rushed her to A&E. Doctors initially suspected sepsis and admitted her to the ward, starting antibiotics and supplemental oxygen. For two days the parents clung to hope, staying by her side through the festive period that was supposed to be joyful. But on the third day, Grace suffered a full cardiac arrest. Her tiny heart stopped beating for a terrifying ten minutes. Medical staff worked frantically to resuscitate her, eventually succeeding and placing her on a ventilator. The specialist transport team arrived and stabilised her enough for the critical transfer to the children’s hospital.

There, the devastating truth finally came to light. Grace had multiple undetected congenital heart defects: coarctation of the aorta, a hypoplastic arch, an atrial septal defect and a ventricular septal defect. Her lower body had been starved of oxygen for who knows how long, causing damage to her bowel, kidneys, liver and even a bleed on the brain from the arrest. Doctors gave her just six to twelve hours to live, warning the family to prepare for the worst.

Against all odds, Grace fought back with incredible strength. Those terrifying days showed your warrior’s incredible fight, mama. Even when doctors prepared for the worst, you held on with hope. You became her greatest strength when her little heart was failing. Now look at your miracle girl.