Heart transplant girl Evie Doherty to star at aunt's wedding one year after life-saving operation

Wedding: Evie with her mum Nicole
Eastnews Press Agency
Charlotte Ikonen2 June 2017

A young girl learning to walk again after a heart transplant will be a flower girl at her aunt’s wedding — which was postponed because she was in hospital waiting for the life-saving operation.

Evie Doherty, four, had a series of strokes after being diagnosed with a potentially fatal heart condition. Her aunt Lauren Korwin, 27, and fiancé Pete Parts, 29, put their ceremony on hold to make sure she could play a role.

Last year Evie had a successful heart transplant at Great Ormond Street Hospital but cannot walk or move properly yet due to damage to the right side of her brain.

She will be helped down the aisle at the wedding in the Suffolk village of Copdock tomorrow by her mother Nicole, who said: “What a difference a year makes. This time last year, we didn’t know if Evie would ever leave hospital.

“Just days after my sister postponed her big day, we found out a donor had been found. It has been a tough year of recovery but this really is a dream come true for the whole family.

“It still doesn’t feel real. There will not be a dry eye in the house.”

Evie with her bridesmaid dress
Collect from Family

Evie’s parents, who live near Colchester, cannot afford the private physiotherapy she needs to regain the full use of her left side. Standard readers have so far helped raise £13,000 towards her rehabilitation.

Mrs Doherty, 31, who worked as an accountant in London before giving up her career to look after Evie, said another £7,000 would pay for the physiotherapy she needs to recover.

She said: “The treatment the money has paid for so far has been so good for her. People have been unbelievably generous and we are very grateful.

“I have been brought to tears by how wonderful people are — people who don’t even know us.

“If they all really knew Evie and how she lights up a room, they would truly know that their kind contribution is going to a wonderful place. We don’t know how her ongoing health will be, but contributing to getting her body stronger will put her in better stead to continue her fight.

“I am so excited to see what she will achieve now and I have no doubt she will do extraordinary things.”

Evie was the face of Great Ormond Street’s Christmas appeal last year, which raised £1.5 million, and has visited No 10.

The money raised by the appeal will be used for two hours of specialist therapy a week for one year and a block of specialist intensive therapy. A total of £2,000 will be spent on equipment including a muscle stimulator and a balance board machine.

To contribute, go to gofundme.com

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