6 year old Orla posing in her sister's arms.
Their Mum wrote:
Orla is 6 yrs old, she attends a mainstream school and loves nothing more than her family, music and most of all, cake!
She surprised us all when she was born blue and bloated on the birthing centre floor. It turned out that Orla was born with three holes in her heart which had been undetected until birth. She spent much of her early life in and out of hospital due to her heart condition and was given life saving surgery at 11 weeks old.
Touch is something that has always been special for Orla and a hug really helps her feel connected. In hospital when she was confined to a hospital bed, holding her hand was the only way to let her know we were there, which instilled that importance for her early on. She hugs to express her love for her friends and family, which helps especially as her speech and language is limited. A hug is the first thing she does every morning and is the last thing she does at night. When I ask her why she likes to hug she says, ‘because I love you mummy’, which I think is a pretty good explanation, and you see in the shoot with her older sibling just how special those hugs can be.
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DownRightAmazing 2020 created by Magdalena Sztechman.