The dad of a two-year-old girl with heart failure is pleading to have his daughter transferred hospital in a bid to save her life.
Fatima D'Souli suffered a cardiac arrest eight weeks ago. Her father Joe, from Livingston, is desperate to have her transferred from the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow to Newcastle's specialist children's heart unit at the Freeman Hospital.
Described as a 'happy two-year-old' baby, Fatima was living life in Morocco with her mum before tragedy struck. She suffered a cardiac arrest in November, and has since been diagnosed with cardiomyopathy and will eventually need a transplant.
Cardiomyopathy is a disease of the heart muscle where the walls of the heart become thickened, stiff or stretched.
When Joe received the gut-wrenching phone call stating that his daughter was 'dying', he raced from Scotland to Morocco - where the family were living - to be by Fatima's side.
The family spent two weeks in Clinique Razi in Tangier before they were able to fly the tot to Scotland - thanks to charity Lia's Wings - for lifesaving care.
Speaking to the Daily Record, Joe, 55, an IT and communications officer, said: "Lia's Wings were very kind to us and wanted to help.
"We were flown to the UK and Fatima has been getting care in the UK since she arrived. The care has been fantastic, the nurses and doctors attention to Fatima has been next to none. But sadly, she needs a heart transplant. To say that she's fragile is such an understatement."
Fatima was scheduled to be transferred to the Freeman - one of just two children's cardiac units in the UK - three weeks ago, but was cancelled. Now, Joe worries Fatima's condition could deteriorate before she is transferred.
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"Fatima has been accepted as a patient at the Freeman, they have accepted her on to their transplant list. The issue that they have is that they don't have enough VAD beds, and we don't have the time to wait weeks or months," said Joe.
"We are in a position where we're getting a little bit of response, but they're talking weeks and months and we're talking about days. This is the crunch point. You don't get much more sick than what Fatima is."
A VAD, also known as a Berlin Heart, is a Ventricular Assisted Device provides mechanical support for children in end stage heart failure. Children waiting for a heart transplant can be supported by one of the machines for months or even years when their heart is too weak to function as it should.
Touching on Fatima's current condition, Joe said: "She has to be resuscitated after doing simple things, and at the moment they are trying to keep the status quo, they're trying to keep her maintained, until such times she can get a VAD bed in the Freeman or Great Ormond Street."
Three weeks ago Fatima was placed on Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) - a form of life support - at the QEUH. However, since coming off ECMO she has had several turbulent episodes and has been placed on a ventilator.
Now, Joe is desperate for Fatima to be transferred to one of two specialist children's heart unit's in the UK.
He said: "If she gets a VAD bed that changes the game, as she can sit on VAD for up to two years, which buys her the time to obtain an organ."
As Fatima and dad, Joe wait in hospital in Glasgow, her family have launched a crowd funder as they face up to the prospect of months of financially draining time spent on the wards.
The Daily Record has contacted NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Great Ormond Street Hospital and Freeman Hospital for comment.
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