A baby who was born with her heart outside her body has been fully discharged from a hospital in England.
Vanellope Hope Wilkins was born without a breastbone and was delivered at Glenfield Hospital in Leicester on 22 November 2017 by caesarean section. Fourteen months later she is finally allowed to go home.
The condition, ectopia cordis, is extremely rare with only a few cases per million births, of which most are stillborn.
When Vanellope’s rare condition was first diagnosed in pregnancy her parents were told she had less than a one in 10 chance of surviving.
Glenfield Hospital said it knew of no other case in the UK where the baby had survived.
Accoridng to the BBC, she had to have three operations to place her heart back in her chest.
Her mother Naomi Findlay says it was "absolutely amazing" and "a massive relief" to have Vanellope home.
"It has been an incredibly long, emotional journey."
Vanellope requires 24-hour care and is reliant on a ventilator. As part of her ongoing care she will be on ventilation for 18 hours every day, including overnight where she will require full time monitoring to ensure she does not roll over onto her front.
Her parents are taking over much of her care, although they will have help overnight.
Ms Findlay said it was "not quite over yet" but it was a chance for them to be a normal family.
Dean Wilkins Vanellope’s father says, "There is still a lot she has to undergo yet but she is home and that’s the first step".
Frances Bu’Lock, part of the team caring for Vanellope said the baby would, 'need something in the longer term" to give structure to her chest and make her condition more stable.
"Like with all of her care we don't exactly know what's going to happen, because nobody's ever done it before, so we're going to have to keep an eye on things," she added.
The next phase of Vanellope's treatment includes creating a sternum for her. There are a few teams working on possible solutions for her and as she grows and develops this will be the next step.
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