Toddler with end-stage heart failure asks Father Christmas for a transplant

A toddler who is in end-stage heart failure has asked Father Christmas for a life-saving heart transplant.

18-month-old Willow Stansfield was diagnosed with end-stage heart failure in August after suffering two cardiac arrests.

The tot had caught a common virus before deteriorating in what her mum, Elisha-Mai, 18, has described as a ‘living nightmare’.

Without a transplant, Willow will die, her mum said. The experience has been ‘incredibly unpredictable, worrying, and scary.

The stay-at-home mum from Bury, Greater Manchester, said they don’t know how long it will be until Willow can get a heart transplant.

‘The wait time has gone to 18 to 24 months for a transplant but it could be longer or a shorter wait,’ Elisha-Mai said. ‘She’s cheeky, intelligent, amusing, and despite everything going on, she still tries to be the happiest little girl.’

Shortly after Willow’s first birthday, she began having symptoms of parvovirus, which has similar signs to that of the common cold or flu.

After further visits to her GP and A&E, followed by treatment with antibiotics, she was admitted to North Manchester General Hospital, where an X-ray showed she had pneumonia.

Willow’s condition worsened, and she was transferred to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool, where it was discovered the tot had heart failure.

Treatment failed to help her condition improve, and she was diagnosed with end-stage heart failure soon after.

She was then transferred to the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle, more than 150 miles away from her home. Dad Luke Stansfield makes the journey weekly to be with his child while mum Elisha-Mai moves to the city.

The mum added: ‘It’s horrible for me being alone [during the week] but also horrible for Luke having to leave to go home without us.’

Willow will be spending her Christmas in the paediatric intensive care unit, rather than being at home.

Elisha-Mai said: ‘We will try and make Christmas as normal as possible and make the most out of a bad situation. However, it will never be the same as if she was at home.’

Elisha-Mai has said she and her partner never thought they would be in such a tough position.

She added: ‘If you were in our position would you want your child to receive a heart transplant to survive? I just ask that you think of that if you have the conversation about making that decision for your children.

‘We’re not waiting for a child to die, unfortunately, children are already dying. We’re waiting for somebody to be brave and make the most selfless decision in their time of heartbreak and devastation to save children like Willow. A successful heart transplant would change Willow’s life.

‘It’s a taboo subject and I completely understand that it can be hard to have that conversation. But that one conversation can save so many lives.’

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