The parents of a “simply perfect” baby have been left devastated after their daughter, born with “half a heart”, died just weeks after birth.
Little Astrid Tordoff was born with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome , a birth defect that was discovered by a midwife doing a routine check when she was just one day old.
The defect is a form of congenital heart disease which means the left lower pumping chamber of the heart doesn’t develop properly and the aorta, which carries blood from the heart to the rest of the body is smaller than usual.
This means the heart is unable to pump blood around the body effectively.
Her parents, Amelia and Charles Tordoff told Yorkshire Live that their daughter was “simply perfect” when she joined the family, who’d been excitedly awaiting her arrival.
Alarm bells started ringing as the family waited to be discharged the following day but were held up when routine checks took longer than expected.
“Astrid came flying into the world full-term and seemed absolutely, perfectly fine for the first 16-17 hours of her life,” said Amelia.
“She was alert, feeding well and generally really lovely. I had a whole night in hospital with her, blissfully unaware of what was to come.”
Tragically, it was discovered that Astrid had a heart murmur, which can be quite common in newborn babies.
Amelia said: "You could sort of tell from their facial expressions that it was a significant murmur, not a little one.
“I’d gone from being in a state of pure joy to thinking, ‘what on earth is going on?’.
"I was trying to stay calm because I still thought she’d be alright - but it did feel like I was having some sort of weird out of body experience."
Later that day, the tot was transferred to the specialist heart unit at Leeds Children’s Hospital.
On Friday, two days after she was born, it was confirmed that Astrid had the complex heart defect known as Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome.
The family were given two options and faced with an impossible decision.
They could let nature run its course by opting for what’s known as comfort care or opt for a risky surgery which offered a chance to prolong her life.
“If we thought it was going to fix her, we’d have opted for the surgery without question," said Amelia.
"She probably had a 50/50 chance of surviving it and if she did, there would be more surgery to come.
"But it didn’t seem like putting her through it would buy her any quality of life.
“It was just a horrific choice to make, and I’ll always question whether we did the right thing.
"But I think deep down I know we did.”
It was suggested the family, who expected to have two or three days at the most with Astrid, move to the more homely surroundings of Bluebell Wood Children's Hospice in Sheffield.
The heartbroken mum added: "Taking her home didn’t seem right; we needed that extra help and support.
"This may sound strange as Astrid is very much a part of our family, but we needed our home to remain a safe space for our other two girls.
“It sounds like a funny thing to say but Bluebell Wood will always be Astrid’s home. We have such beautiful memories and the care team were amazing with all of us.”
Astrid’s extended family came to meet her over the next few days, acutely aware the clock was ticking. But she continued to defy the odds.
“Every day with Astrid was a gift, but because we had the other girls our lives were torn in so many different directions," said Amelia.
"We doubted everything. How could she possibly have half a heart when she was living for days and days?"
A couple of days later, the Tordoffs moved to a bigger family suite where they stayed for the remainder of Astrid’s 21 days at Bluebell Wood.
Amelia said: "It felt more like a home from home and we got into a bit of a routine.
"The girls would come over after school and see us for a few hours each day.
"For such a traumatic experience, they have nothing but beautiful, positive things to say about Bluebell Wood, which is testament to the type of place it is."
She added: "You are quite literally going through hell, the worst thing that anyone can experience, and yet you’re so comfortable and so well looked after.
“Without Bluebell Wood it would have been so different.
"We wouldn’t have had that support and we wouldn’t have been able to make all those positive memories – not just for us but for the girls and our families too."
Amelia said it allowed her and husband Charles to compose themselves for their two daughters so they wouldn't see them "absolutely broken".
"We were always very honest with them, but I hope we protected them from the worst horror of it all," she said.
“People have asked me how I can face going back to the hospice for counselling. I tell them it’s the place where I feel most connected to Astrid – it’s her home.”
The little girl sadly died in the arms of her loving parents in the early hours of July 3.
The family is now fundraising for Bluebell Wood Children's Hospice in Astrid's memory.
If you would like to donate, you can do so here .
