Crawley two-year-old girl who could DIE at any moment
- Verity Dewy suffers from arrhythmia which was sparked by the cardiac growth
- The 4cm by 5cm mass has turned the toddler’s body into a ticking time bomb
- It was only found earlier this year after her heart started pumping at 250bpm
- Her parents are now forced to carry around a defibrillator everywhere they go
- The family are now desperately trying to raise £100,000 for surgery in the US
Stephen Matthews For Mailonline
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A two-year-old girl could die at any time without treatment for her lime-sized tumour which is slowly taking over her heart.
Verity Dewy, from Crawley, suffers from arrhythmia – an abnormal heart rhythm, which was sparked by the growth.
Despite the mass not being cancerous, it has turned the toddler’s body into a ticking time bomb that could fail her at any second.
The tumour was only discovered earlier this year after her heart started pumping at 250 beats per minute – more than double the average for a toddler.
Her parents are forced to carry around a defibrillator everywhere they go, just in case it happens again and causes their daughter’s heart to stop beating.
The family are now desperately trying to raise £100,000, so they can take Verity to specialists in the US to have the tumour removed.
Verity Dewy, from Crawley, suffers from arrhythmia – an abnormal heart rhythm, which was sparked by the tumour (pictured before her diagnosis in January)
Despite the mass not being cancerous, it has turned the toddler’s body into a ticking time bomb that could fail her at any second (pictured in hospital last month)
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Her mother, Emily Davy, 32, said: ‘We are constantly on tenterhooks. It’s a terrifying situation. We never go abroad anymore.
‘We don’t go anywhere without a phone signal, in case we need an ambulance. We wouldn’t go too far from a hospital, either. We need Verity to have a chance to live.
The deadly condition was only discovered earlier this year after her heart started pumping at 250 beats per minute – more than double the average (pictured with her parents Emily and Russell Davy, both 32)
Her parents are forced to carry around a defibrillator everywhere they go, just in case their daughter’s heart stops beating (pictured on February 21, when Verity’s heart began to pump at 250 beats per minute – double the average for a child)
‘The condition is very rare. Our lives have been turned upside down since the diagnosis.
‘We now have to carry a defibrillator with us everywhere we go, in case Verity’s heart stops beating. We never know if today will be the day that we might lose her.
‘Verity acts like a healthy, active toddler, but living with this condition means she could experience another episode of arrhythmia at any time without warning.’
Ms Davy said until February 21 this year, when the abnormal rhythm was found, there was no cause for concern.
The call centre worker added that ‘she was an active child’. But when they put her to bed, her heart was beating so fast, she could see it pumping out of her chest.
Verity was rushed to accident and emergency at Crawley Hospital. But she was taken immediately to the larger East Surrey Hospital in Redhill.
Doctors placed her on a magnesium drip which brought her heart rate down, Ms Davy, who is currently off work caring for her daughter, added.
But they were still unsure as to why the seemingly healthy two-year-old had developed such a fast heart rate.
An MRI scan revealed that she had a 4cm by 5cm tumour on her heart called a cardiac fibroma
The family are now desperately trying to raise £100,000, so they can take Verity to specialists in the US to have the tumour removed (pictured in January)
WHAT IS A CARDIAC FIBROMA?
Cardiac fibromas are benign connective tissue tumours that usually affect children.
They are often associated with arrhythmias – abnormal heart rhythms – which can be a presenting feature.
But in some cases they can grow to large sizes completely undetected.
The majority of tumors that cause sudden death extend into the ventricular conduction system.
Because of its location, normally in the ventricle wall separating the lower chambers of the heart, it affects blood flow into the heart, disrupting normal rhythm.
Treatment tends to involve removing the tumour completely.
Only 200 cases have been recorded in medical literature to date, figures suggest.
She was then referred to the Royal Brompton Hospital in central London.
Two weeks later, she had an MRI scan. It revealed that she had a 4cm by 5cm tumour on her heart called a cardiac fibroma.
The mass had caused a life-threatening arrhythmia called ventricular tachycardia, which could recur at any moment.
If it happens again, Mrs Davy and her gas engineer husband Russell, 32, have been warned their only child could die.
Verity is fitted with a monitor on the end of her finger which constantly checks her heart rate – even through the night.
Her parents also carry around a defibrillator – a device administering electric shocks to restart the heart in case of cardiac arrest.
Writing on the GoFundMe page for treatment in the US, Ms Davy said that the type of tumour she suffers from is ‘incredibly rare’.
She added: ‘The only treatment for this condition is an operation to remove the tumour, which unfortunately the NHS are unable to offer as they have no experience with this type of surgery.’
Verity’s mother, Emily Davy, 32, said: ‘We are constantly on tenterhooks. It’s a terrifying situation. We never go abroad anymore’ (pictured in March this year)
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