A little girl waiting for a heart transplant has received a sackful of Christmas cards from strangers to ‘brighten her life’.
Evie Green, who has dilated cardiomyopathy, is decorating the walls of her ward in Newcastle’s Freeman Hospital with the cards. Mum Chloe recommended cards instead of presents because “she loves making and opening them”. Chloe is campaigning to raise awareness of organ donation, 289 after Evie’s admission to hospital, and 265 days after the four-year-old was fitted with a Berlin heart to save her life.
The Mirror told how she was placed on the urgent transplant list after she suffered a cardiac arrest earlier this year. She was sent a message of support by the parents of Max Johnson, the Mirror campaigner who was also treated at the Freeman.
Evie and her mum Chloe, dad David and brother Theo (handout)Evie’s condition affects the heart’s ability to pump blood around the body. In March, she was moved into a paediatric intensive care unit to bring a skin infection under control. However, her health deteriorated and the next day she had open heart surgery. During the operation, her heart stopped, but the team managed to bring her back. Doctors made a national callout to see if there was a heart donor available, but there was none.
Evie Green remains in hospital waiting for a heart transplant (handout)Evie remains on the urgent transplant list and will not leave hospital until a heart is found Chloe, 28, of Middlesbrough, said: “Evie is loving the cards she has received so far. It really does mean so much to our family.” She told the Mirror how her daughter was ‘gone for two minutes’ before she was revived earlier this year. Chloe explained: “They made a national call out to see if there was a donor heart available, unfortunately there was not.
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“The Berlin Heart is to bridge her to transplant. She will not leave hospital now until someone gives her this gift.” Max’s parents, civil servant Paul, 50, and Emma, 53, a head of business development of Winsford, Cheshire, sent their ‘love and prayers’ for Evie. Chloe, a council worker, thanked them for their support, adding: “Evie is on the route for a transplant, that is how it is now. The message from Max’s family was lovely. We know we are in a fantastic place. The Freeman staff want to get her in the best place. They will do whatever they can to support us on this journey.”
She thanked the transplant team, including surgeon Louise Kenny, who saved her daughter’s life in March. “She was very unwell and would not have survived unless we intervened,” consultant Louise, 40, said. “She has a long journey ahead of her. She could wait anywhere between one and two years for a donor heart.” Chloe believes the situation for recipients ‘has improved so much’ thanks to Max and Keira’s Law, introduced in 2021 after a five-year Mirror campaign. “I think people know how dignified it is for the families of donors now,”
She said. “It is good that people know about the process. They make the best of the worst possible experience for a parent, that gives comfort at such a time.” Chloe and husband David, 35, a bar worker, also have a son Theo, aged five. They are staying at the Freeman thanks to the Sick Children’s Trust accommodation, and travelling back and forth to Teesside. For more information on Evie's Heart Journey click here.
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