Red bench celebrates girl's heart surgery story

A new red bench that celebrates an open heart surgery operation that saved a girl's life when she was just a few days old has been installed in a city centre.

Ivy Lloyd was born with a complex heart condition where the two arteries coming out of her heart were the wrong way round and required her to undergo an operation at Bristol Children's Hospital just 48 hours after being born, and open heart surgery one week later.

Ivy is now eight years old and her recovery is being celebrated by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) through a new red bench on Bristol's harbour side.

"I feel very happy to have a bench, especially one that's striking red," said Ivy.

The bench is one of 65 being installed by the BHF around the country as part of a national campaign inspired by stories of surviving heart conditions.

Ivy's story was chosen as it is closely linked to research happening at the time.

"It's an outstanding idea to remember patients that have done well and contributed to the learning we have as a speciality," said Dr Andrew Parry, congenital cardiac surgeon at Bristol Royal Hospital for Children, who performed the eight-hour open heart operation on Ivy.

"It's a privilege to be able to be involved in the care of these little ones - we do it to give these children as much of a normal life as we possibly can do afterwards.

"It's very gratifying and pleasing that Ivy is now having essentially a completely normal life - it makes the job all worthwhile."

Ivy's parents discovered her condition at a 20-week scan and say they were supported by the BHF from the very beginning:

"From day one, a lot of the info we were given came from the BHF, and the support we've had since then means the world to us and we're honoured to help them in any way we can," Ivy's mother, Holly, said.

"We're very lucky that Ivy's situation means she's well now - other people aren't that fortunate, and the work that BHF do to further research and give other families the benefits that we've had is fantastic," said her father, Mark.

The charity hope that Ivy's bench will inspire conversations about cardiovascular disease and encourage people to donate to help fund more research.

Louise Gallard, local fundraising manager for BHF, said that stories like Ivy's are "what keeps us working, it helps us show people why their donations are so important".

"It's a really incredible feeling to see somebody like Ivy and her family living life to the fullest because of research; it shows how vital it is," she added.

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