A LITTLE girl who was born with a hole in her heart has taken her first steps towards making a full recovery.

Cerys Small, was born with multiple complex heart defects and is being kept alive due to daily doses of Viagra.

Doctors discovered that Cerys had a hole in her heart during Mrs Small’s 20-week pregnancy scan and gave her a 50 per cent chance of survival.

But the two-and-a-half-year-old, who was also born without a spleen and takes six tablets a day to manage her condition, proved she was a fighter by undergoing three operations all before she was five years old.

The toddler takes Viagra – most commonly used for treating sexual dysfunction in men – to help her to circulate the blood around her body more easily.

The family who recently moved to Rogerstone from Maesglas, along with Cerys’ brother Evan, nine, and sister Megan, ten, had seen Cerys attend play-group three times a week before the move.

Cerys, who was determined to walk, has now achieved her goal by managing to walk on her own.

Cerys’ parents Gareth and Kerrie, both 33, say she is on the road to making a full recovery.

Mrs Small said: “She is doing really well. Her consultant saw her in June and he is really pleased with how she is progressing.

“She is still on the Viagra, but only takes five millilitres three times a day, and she is still taking her other medication for her spleen.

“But they have reduced the amount of Viagra and they are hoping to wean her off it gradually so she can sustain herself.

“She doesn’t walk far but she is able to walk by herself.”

Cerys will still need to undergo more surgery called the Sontan Procedure, when she turns five, when her heart is bigger and stronger.

Cerys’ condition means that she only has one blood chamber instead of four so the procedure will involve taking the deoxygenated blood from the lower part of her body straight to the lungs so her heart will have only oxygenated blood.

Mr Small added: “Her next consultation is in March - nine months from now, and doctors are hoping to stop the Viagra completely.

“This is fantastic, but it all depends on how she goes in the next few months, but at the moment she is doing really well.”

Mrs Small is hoping to hold a charity night later this year to raise money for the Wallace and Gromitt Appeal in Bristol where Cerys’ treatment was carried out.

If you would like to donate raffle prizes for the charity night contact kerrielsmall@ gmail.com