A LITTLE girl – who has had a number of open heart surgeries to save her life – returned home last week after months in the hospital.

Hope Shirt is almost six months old but has spent the majority of her life in the Leeds Congenital Heart Unit after receiving life-saving surgery.

Leanne Shirt, 34, and her partner Mike Pickersgill, 33, of Beech Street, Worsbrough Common, have been sharing the story of their daughter on Facebook following her birth in early January.

Leanne was told at her 20-week scan that there was something wrong with Hope’s heart and doctors revealed she had double outlet right ventricle, ventricular septal defect (VSD) and severe pulmonary stenosis.

Since then Hope has had a number of open heart surgeries though due to complications a makeshift tube had to be fitted as a main artery was blocking where surgeons needed to cut.

But Hope returned home last week and Leanne is hopeful that she’ll be able to stay there until her first birthday.

She told the Chronicle: “Before she came home I had to be trained in lots of different things like resuscitation and how to tube feed her.

“She’s been here a week and it’s all been going really well so far – it’s really nice to have her here.

“We’re hoping she can stay here until she’s one and then she’ll go back to Leeds – she has to go back every two weeks at the moment.”