Little warrior Elyssia enjoys first Christmas at home following heart surgery

dailyrecord.co.uk:

It was an extra special first Christmas for one little warrior in North Lanarkshire this week.The family of eight-month-old Elyssia Mariel Baillie have been through a rollercoaster of emotions this year since her arrival in April.A couple of weeks after her birth it was discovered that Elyssia had a problem with her heart.The Lanarkshire Live app is available to download now.

Get all the news from your area – as well as features, entertainment, sport and the latest on Lanarkshire’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic – straight to your fingertips, 24/7.The free download features the latest breaking news and exclusive stories, and allows you to customise your page to the sections that matter most to you.Head to the App Store and never miss a beat in Lanarkshire - iOS - Android Doctors discovered she had been born with a hole in her heart, and then in September they discovered a second.

She underwent surgery a short time later to repair the condition, known as Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD).It’s safe to say that little Elyssia’s mum and dad Kerry Holmes and Craig Baillie have been through the mill since her birth.They first realised something was wrong when Elyssia was admitted to Ward 19 at University Hospital Wishaw for an infected toe at two weeks old.Kerry explained: “We had to take her down to the hospital so she could be put on IV antibiotics because she was too small for oral ones.

She was so small they were worried about the infection. One of the doctors asked, ‘Do you know she has a heart murmur?’.“I asked what that meant and they explained it and then done an echocardiogram which discovered a VSD – a hole in her heart.