A toddler who was diagnosed with a life-threatening condition after having cold-like symptoms has been added to the heart transplant list.
Little Evie Green was just four months old when she was left fighting for her life after a simple cold turned into a rare viral infection in her heart.
Doctors diagnosed the tot with myocarditis - a condition triggered by simple viral infections that in serious cases can lead to heart failure.
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Since the diagnosis in 2019, Evie has remained relatively stable but things have taken a turn for the worse and doctors have put her on the heart transplant list.
Her parents, Chloe and David Green, who also have son, Theo, four, have been by their daughter's bedside since she was admitted to the Freeman Hospital.
Chloe, 27, said: "She has been in hospital for three weeks and she is well in herself but unfortunately on paper her heart is not doing well.
"We have had a pretty stable patch since 2019, during lockdown she was shielding, and her blood levels were normal but in January they became elevated which is an indicator her heart is under stress.
"She is doing well but her blood levels are just not right at the moment. She has been on medication but when they tried to wean it down the levels went back up.
"She has been at the Freeman Hospital for three weeks where she underwent a transplant assessment and has been added to the routine list.
"If her levels don't improve by next week doctors say she could be added to the urgent list."
Chloe, from Middlesbrough, hopes doctors will be able to adjust Evie's medication so her levels become stable and she can return home.
But she also wants people to become aware about the importance of organ donation and for families to discuss the issue.
She said: "It is quite a taboo topic. I have thought about it because of Evie's condition but I have a little boy who is completely healthy and never thought about him losing his life.
"You don't know what the future holds for anybody but I think it is important to have that conversation about what you would do.
"People have their reasons for not doing organ donation but if your child needed one, would you accept it?
"The transplant process is done with dignity and I think knowing there is a child waiting for an organ, it is a great legacy to pass on to someone else.
"Even if my child lost their life, I would like to have that sort of comfort.
"People don't know what will happen and when they lose a loved one how they will grieve, if it is a sudden death there will be a lot more shock. I think it is important to have these conversations now."
When Evie first became ill her heart function dropped to just 3 per cent.
The tot started getting cold-like symptoms and when her symptoms didn't improve doctors diagnosed her with bronchiolitis.
She was in and out of hospital after becoming breathless, pale and suffered from coughing fits and cold hands and feet.
A scan at the James Cook Hospital showed she had an enlarged heart and she was transferred to the Freeman Hospital for specialist care.
It was then doctors diagnosed the tot with myocarditis.
Chole hopes a heart transplant will be a last resort and medication can stabilise Evie so she can return home.
She said: "You are swapping one disease for another disease and she would still have to take medication for the rest of her life.
"I would want Evie to keep her own heart for as long as possible.
"You can be waiting on the routine transplant list for five to seven years. If you get a heart, and it is a big if, you need to be on the urgent transplant list and be an inpatient for long-term.
"With Evie we are not sure where she is going yet."
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