A YOUNG girl who underwent open heart surgery at just fiveweeks-old has been nominated for a Young Champion’s award.

Tanesha Ives, now nine, was born with complete atrioventricular septal defect, which meant there was a hole between the top and bottom chambers in her heart and there is a shared valve in the middle, rather than two separate ones.

At five-weeks-old, she had to undergo an operation which took nine-and-a-half hours, and Tanesha later developed sepsis and bowel problems but luckily did not need further surgery.

Tanesha spent a total of eight weeks in hospital but when she was 18 months old, she suffered complete heart block, which is where the heart’s natural pacemaker can’t regulate the heartbeat itself, and had a pacemaker fitted.

She tires easily because of her condition, has hypermobility which causes daily leg pains and is unable to walk far. But she has come on leaps and bounds, and last year she was presented with a specialist wheelchair by a charity which allows her to get out of the house and spend more time with her family and friends.

Her determination saw her nominated as a Young Superstar in the Proud of Barnsley awards, and she has yet again been nominated as a Young Conquerer for Young Champions.

Her mother Amanda, 44, of Park Road, Barnsley, said: “Last year Tanesha was nominated for a Proud of Barnsley award and she was over the moon. She tries to be as active as she can but her hypermobility causes her pain. Since she’s had the wheelchair it has made a huge difference because she can rest when she feels tired.

“She loves being outside in the fresh air and she really enjoys playing football at her after school club at Joseph Locke primary. Although she can’t play for very long she really enjoys kicking the ball and tries her best.

“I was overwhelmed to hear she has been nominated for a Young Champions award as a Young Conquerer. I am so proud of her and how far she’s come and although she’s still got more hurdles to go through she will always be my champion.”