A little girl battling a life-threatening condition has spent months at the Freeman Hospital as she waits for a new heart.
Little Evie Green had remained relatively stable after being diagnosed with myocarditis when she was just four months old - a condition triggered by simple viral infections that in serious cases can lead to heart failure.
After being admitted to the Freeman Hospital Newcastle earlier this year, she was initially placed on the routine transplant list but just days later her health took a turn for the worse.
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She underwent emergency surgery to have a Berlin machine fitted and suffered a cardiac arrest during the procedure. Thankfully, the youngster pulled through and medics have now placed her on the urgent transplant list.
Evie must stay at the Freeman Hospital until she is able to undergo a heart transplant. Her parents, Chloe and David Green, who also have a son, Theo, five, have been by their daughter's bedside since she was admitted.
Chloe, 28, said: "She has two pipes attached to her heart which leads to a machine called the Berlin Machine and does the function of the left ventricle. She had a cardiac arrest during the operation itself.
"I could see she was dying right in front of my eyes. I knew she needed the operation and it wasn't a scary thought because I knew she needed to be on the machine now. This is the next step.
"It was terrifying as I'm not used to seeing her lethargic, I'm used to seeing her as a regular child playing games and having fun so seeing her not like that was quite confronting.
"With this machine you do have a lot of recovery because she was quite poorly beforehand. She is kind of back to what she was beforehand, just a little bit slower. She is walking and doing everything brilliant and is back to her own little personality really.
"She is able to do things until she can get a transplant."
Chloe, from Middlesbrough, said the machine comes with risk as it could cause a stroke and could cause infections as the family face an agonising wait for a new heart.
She added: "Evie has seen other children get new hearts and says when she gets a new heart she'll be able to go home.
"There's no real time frame. It can keep you going but there are other risks that can happen. There is a risk of stroke with this machine because having two pipes in your chest, your body's natural response is to try to clot as it's not a natural thing in your body.
"There is a 20 to 30 per cent chance of a stroke on this machine. She is on medication to stop that from happening.
"It is one of those risks you have to be aware of but it is much better to be on the machine than to not be. If you take a turn for the worse and are not on the machine you could die.
"We are trying to be patient and wait but we are also scared of little bumps that could happen. There is always a little risk and when you are in hospital you are more prone to infections.
At the weekend Evie celebrated turning four at the hospital, a milestone Chloe feared her little girl would not reach.
She said: "I'm scared of planning for a week in advance because I've seen things change in days, hours and minutes.
"But it was an amazing day. I'm pleased we got there because in March I couldn't think about it. I thought it might not happen."
Now, Chloe is focused on raising awareness about the importance of organ donation.
She said: "Getting a new heart is not something you know when it will happen, unfortunately it will happen when someone loses their life, which is horrible, but we think we aren't waiting for someone to lose their life we are waiting for someone's family to give their organs to someone who needs them.
"I've been giving out posters about childhood organ donation as there is a real lack of information on it.
"They may be going through the worst time in their life but they could be thinking about what legacy they could leave for their child, or family member as there is a real need for adult organ donation as well."
