Toddler's mum feels 'hope' after US heart op

A mother who raised £1.5m for her toddler's heart operation in the United States has said that following the procedure she had not "felt this much hope in a very, very long time".

One-year-old Ollie, from Gobowen in Shropshire, is still sedated, but his mother Jasmin told her followers on Instagram: "There has been no complications at all, everything has gone so, so smoothly. So much better than I ever could have hoped for."

She once more thanked the thousands of people who supported her fundraising efforts and said her son was "absolutely smashing it".

"I can't wait for him to wake up and be on the mend and back to his little self," she added.

Ollie was born with a hole in his heart and defects in his arteries.

Jasmin was forced to fundraise to have the operation performed at a specialist children's hospital in California, because the NHS said it was unable to carry it out, although he is due to return to the UK in a few months to have his treatment completed by the health service.

A variety of fundraising streams helped the family towards the total, and included a £10,000 donation from Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds.

Jasmin said that following the operation, surgeons had told her the procedure had gone "really, really well" and Ollie's chest had been closed up again.

She told her social media followers: "He's not had surgery before so this is all very, very new to me."

Ollie's mum also said she had met the "sweetest couple" who had been following her story and gave her her first hug since arriving in America.

"It's making me feel very emotional," she said.

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