09 October 2023 , 08:47
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A little girl desperately waiting on news of a heart transplant fought back after going into septic shock.
Evie Green was left fighting for life after an ordinary cold turned into rare myocarditis – inflammation of the heart tissue – when she was four months old. The four-year-old warrior is currently at Freeman Hospital Newcastle where she will stay until she receives the gift of a new heart.
During her wait she has faced numerous challenges including suffering a cardiac arrest during emergency surgery, and most recently was placed on a ventilator after suffering septic shock. Doctors managed to stabilise her but the family is still waiting on news.
Evie, with her mum Chloe, has been in hospital for eights months (Chloe Green / SWNS)Mum Chloe Green, who has been at her daughter’s bedside with her husband David throughout, told Chronicle Live: “She has gone through a run of quite bad infections over the last five or six months. This recent infection was so overwhelming for her body it just turned into sepsis, which was really dangerous, and it turned into septic shock.
"She was admitted to intensive care and thankfully they managed to stabilise her there. They have got her on a cocktail of antibiotics to keep her clean. I could see she needed to be on a ventilator, she was working so hard and looked really tired. They needed to do something so she could rest and let her body recover. The infection was really overwhelming at that point."
Baby boy has spent his life in hospital as doctors are 'scared' to discharge him
The youngster playing dress up during her wait in hospital (handout)
The latest incident was described as "terrifying" (Chloe Green / SWNS)Chloe said the experience was "terrifying" but Evie has bounced back to her usual self now. Doctors have previously told the family to not give up hope. Chloe has also been focused on raising awareness about the importance of organ donation and Evie recently featured in a campaign featuring children who are waiting for transplants. photographer Debbie Todd photographed 17 children in need of life-saving operations.
She added: “By the time everything had settled down she'd stabilised. It was quite a fast few hours where at the most serious point, the doctors weren't talking to me, they were trying to sort Evie. It was terrifying and probably the most out of control I have felt during it all. You can control things like the machine she is on and everything else, but when an infection is overwhelming your entire body you don't know what's going to happen and that is the scariest part.
"She is pretty much back to her norm really. She bounces back really quick. I don't know how she does it. When she is down, she is down quite bad but when she gets that bit of help or support she will pick herself right back up.
"They are a bit concerned about the level of infections so she's to remain on antibiotics until she's had the transplant. It is good but you do hear about antibiotic resistance, it is for the pure safety of her though. I'm very much based on Evie's mood, if Evie is happy, I am happy and take a bit of a breather. The whole severity of the situation overall, we are in the thick of it now. We have been in hospital for eight months and know where we need to get to."