A two-year-old girl from Carmarthenshire, Wales, is set to undergo her 36th operation in just two years due to a rare condition that prevents her from swallowing. Ella Davies, who celebrated her second birthday this week, requires surgery every three weeks to keep her oesophagus open.
Ella was born with several health issues, including an improperly formed oesophagus and Dextracardia, where the heart is on the right side of the chest. She also has Scimitar Heart Syndrome, Right Lung Pulmonary Hypoplasia, and Tracheo-Oesophagael Fistula, which means she cannot swallow. Her first major operation at three days old took six hours to repair her oesophagus.
This year, Ella has spent eight weeks in three different intensive care units. In July, a life-saving operation at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London was required after a hole was discovered in her airway, and pneumonia caused both lungs to collapse. Milk had been seeping into her lungs, leading to a severe chest infection and organ failure.
Her parents, Leah Evans and Arwel Davies, regularly drive her to a hospital in Bristol for procedures. The family hopes her oesophagus will grow larger over time, reducing the need for frequent surgeries. However, a major operation planned for later this year has been postponed due to her recent health crisis.
