She is an amazing little girl who was not expected to survive birth, but is now approaching her fourth birthday.
After bravely defying doctors' expectations, Lowestoft youngster Emily Mullen is described by her 'mamma' as a miracle.
When she was only one-day-old in March 2017, Emily was rushed to the Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) in London to undergo several major heart surgeries.
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Then when she was three months old, Emily was transferred urgently to hospital and her family was told she only had 48 hours to live.
Having been diagnosed with a long list of medical conditions, including being non-mobile, blind and having a severe heart condition, the terminally ill three-year-old and her family are calling on people to donate to a children’s charity that has “enriched her life” during lockdown.
Emily's primary carer and her mum Valerie Mullen is encouraging people to donate to help the disability charity Caudwell Children as part of its campaign to provide essential sensory equipment for children to use at home during the Covid-19 pandemic.
A dozen Suffolk families - including Emily's - have already applied to the charity after it pledged to provide thousands of families across the UK with a pack of safe toys to support children living with a wide range of disabilities.
Ms Mullen said: “Emily is my second cousin and I took her in when she was just five months old.
"Technically I am Emily's carer, but I am her mamma. I couldn’t not take her in.
"When I first saw her she was all wired up in a cot at hospital and on her own.
"Emily has severe aortic stenosis and is blind alongside other complications, and is therefore on palliative care."
The mother-of-six hopes people will donate to support Caudwell Children after Emily received her sensory pack from the charity last month.
She said: “We have been shielding since March, so to have new textures and senses to experience is critical to Emily's development.
"Being blind, she thrives on sounds and textures, the Get Sensory pack has helped her to explore and discover the environment around her.
“There are no surgeries that will extend her life, and eventually her heart will just give in.
"They said she wouldn’t survive, but now she’s nearly four.
"When asked how, they say she survives on love.
“By donating to Caudwell Children you’re enriching children’s lives while they’re stuck indoors.
"If you can enrich a child’s life, please do it.”
To donate visit getsensorypacks.com/donate
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