A miracle baby born with her heart wired the wrong way round survived major surgery at just eight-days-old and is now home and hitting all her milestones. Daphne Payne, now five-months-old, was born with a congenital heart defect known as transposition of the great arteries - where the two main blood vessels leaving the heart are swapped over.
Her mum, Hayley Farrer, 35, was told at her 20-week scan that there was something wrong with Daphne's heart and was given the diagnosis a few days later. Hayley and her partner started to frantically Google to find out more about the condition.
Doctors originally planned to induce Hayley so she could give birth by C-section but Daphne's heartbeat kept dropping. After being closely monitored by hospital staff, Daphne was delivered naturally on August 26, 2022, at 38 weeks, weighing 6lb 13oz and is now hitting "every milestone".
Hayley Farrer, 35, a police officer from Fleet, Hampshire said: "You would never think she would have been through what she had been through. She is growing really well.
"She is six months on Sunday and she is developing really well. She is like any other baby - made of tough stuff."
After being diagnosed with a heart defect Daphne was born in August 2022 at the Evelina London Children’s Hospital, London. Daphne was taken to the neonatal intensive care unit, with mum Hayley seeing her for the first time nine hours after her birth.
Daphne underwent her first operation at just two-days-old to keep a small gap open in her heart, called an atrial septostomy - a procedure where a small hole is made in the wall between the left and right atria of the heart. Eight days later, she an arterial switch - open heart surgery to move the two major blood vessels into the correct place.
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The operation involves cutting off the aorta and pulmonary arteries just above the point where they leave the heart. Hayley said: "The doctors told me there was a 98 per cent success rate with the surgery.
"When she went down I was really positive but there is always something in the back of your mind saying that someone has to be the two per cent."
Daphne spent two weeks in the specialist children’s hospital before being able to come home in September 2022 just 16 days old. The mum-of-one said: "I’m so grateful for all the care Daphne and I received from the maternity team at St Thomas’ and the cardiology teams at Evelina London Children’s Hospital.
"Everyone was amazing. I’d like to also say a huge thank you to my brother for running the London Marathon to show our appreciation. She has hit every milestone. She is so strong."
Daphne's uncle, Paul Farrer, 40, a firefighter, will be running the London Marathon Marathon to thank the cardiology team at Evelina London Children’s Hospital for saving her life. Paul, from Walton-on-Thames, said: “My sister Hayley found out at her 20-week scan that Daphne had a rare, congenital heart defect.
"We knew that Daphne would need specialist heart surgery soon after birth, so Hayley had her antenatal care moved to St Thomas’ Hospital. She had this amazing, positive outlook even after Daphne’s diagnosis.”
Paul is taking on the TSC London Marathon on Sunday, April 23, to raise funds for Evelina London Children’s Charity.
