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The baby with half a heart will celebrate her first birthday
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
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The child, whose chances of being born were negligible due to a pathology - the girl was born with half a heart - will soon celebrate her first birthday.
Daisy Davidson was doomed to death in the womb by doctors who diagnosed her with a congenital heart defect and tricuspid atresia. They advised her mother to have an abortion, explaining that such a diagnosis was literally a death sentence for the child, since most children born die before they even reach a year of age.
Everyone will gather to congratulate the baby on her first year of life on September 27 – those who believed in miracles and those who advised parents not to torture themselves or the child. Nevertheless, almost a year has passed and Daisy is growing up a healthy and happy girl, surrounded by the care of her loving mom and dad.
"At first the doctors thought the baby had a hole in her heart, but then it turned out that half of it was missing," says the girl's mother, Stephanie. "After they explained everything to us and explained what the consequences were, we couldn't even imagine that we would be able to celebrate our little one's first birthday."
Stephanie Davidson's pregnancy was going well and doctors had no concerns. But during an ultrasound examination at 20 weeks, doctors discovered dark spots on the baby's heart. They diagnosed a heart defect.
The concerned parents sought further advice at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Glasgow. It was there that they heard the shocking news that the baby was missing half a heart.
Stephanie admits that she thought about terminating the pregnancy, but decided to take the risk.
She carried the baby to full term. Daisy was born weighing 3 kilograms 200 grams and was under observation for five days before the mother and baby were allowed to leave the hospital.
Everything was going well until the little girl caught a cold on Christmas Eve. The infection caused her health to deteriorate rapidly, she refused to eat and stopped going to the toilet.
The heart surgery was scheduled for February, but after examining the girl, doctors decided to operate on Daisy urgently, otherwise the heart might not cope with the additional load.
The operation lasted for four hours, all this time the surgeons fought for the baby's heart to function normally, and they succeeded. Daisy Davidson became the smallest patient in Scotland to undergo heart surgery.
Now the girl is taking her first steps and making her parents happy. Stephanie advises everyone who has heard the terrible diagnosis not to rush, not to deprive a child who has not yet been born of life, but to hope and believe in a miracle.