Devon baby Lottie breathes on her own ahead of Christmas

A baby from Devon, who is one youngest people to survive a liver transplant, is now breathing by herself.

Lottie Bryon-Edmond, from Torquay, underwent the transplant in August aged five weeks.

She needed the transplant after developing neonatal haemochromatosis, which meant toxic levels of iron built up in her liver.

Lottie's mother, Julie Bryon-Edmond, said: "It's going to be the best Christmas we would have ever had."

She said: "At times we didn't think this was going to happen and sometimes I have to pinch myself, but it's so exciting."

Lottie's father, Chris Bryon-Edmond, said he had started writing a book about Lottie's experience in the hope of encouraging more people to become organ donors.

"Not for one second do I forget how lucky we are and how lucky she is that we're here now.

'Wonderful personality'

"It makes it easier being woken up in the middle of the night, what we've been through, because she deserves to be here, big time, more than any child I have known."

Mr Bryon-Edmond said Lottie had the "most wonderful little personality" and it was her "feistiness" that had kept her alive.

Both parents said as much as they were looking forward to Christmas they were also thinking of the donor's family.

Mrs Bryon-Edmond said: "I'm always thinking about that family and what they must be feeling this Christmas and that's the real sad part about it.

"You sort of feel even more determined to make sure that Lottie is OK to look after that liver that was so generously donated."

Lottie underwent the seven-hour operation at Birmingham Children's Hospital after being examined by doctors in Torquay, Exeter, Bristol and Birmingham.

Doctors warned she could have died at any time before the procedure and was top of the UK's super-urgent transplant list for 14 days.