Baby appeal mum set to book US heart operation

Jasmin said the support for Ollie's appeal had been 'phenomenal'

The mother of a 14-month-old who needs life-saving heart surgery has contacted a hospital in California to set a date for the operation, following a successful fundraiser.

Jasmin, from Gobowen in Shropshire, has so far raised more than £1.3m to fund the treatment for her son Ollie, which she hoped would go ahead as soon as possible.

The target for the appeal was £1.5m, with large donations received from the likes of Scottish author Leigh Rivers, film star Ryan Reynolds and fundraising lottery Chaotic Community.

Jasmin said she was expecting to get a response from Stanford Medicine by Wednesday, and that the children's hospital knew Ollie's need was "time-sensitive".

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

Jasmin said UK hospitals told her that they could not operate on him and had only offered palliative care, but Stanford Children's Hospital told her it could perform the operation.

When she started her fundraising appeal, she was faced with the daunting task of raising £3m, but their cardiologist later said the second stage of the treatment could be carried out in the UK, cutting the total to £1.5m.

Part of the money is being raised through the sale of Jasmin's home in Gobowen, and she has moved back in with her mother in Wrexham.

But she said the appeal really took off when it started being shared on TikTok and Instagram, where it has received millions of views.

Among those to donate after seeing the appeal there was Ms Rivers, who initially gave £10,000, but then added a further £110,000 to get Jasmin to the point where she could contact the Californian hospital to make arrangements.

Jasmin said at first Ms Rivers donated without saying anything, but later got in touch to say she was proud of the young mother.

"I'm proud of her," Jasmin said, "she's saving my son's life".