TINY Layla-Mae Harkness is proving she's already a fighter, by undergoing major heart surgery three times before she was six weeks old. 

Just 10 weeks on, Layla-Mae is now doing so well after three lifesaving operations that she's helping her parents raise money for the lifeline that supported them as she fought to survive.

The little girl was resuscitated by staff at the West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven when she was just 10 days old. 

Her 24-year-old mother Debbie Hodkin (CORR) had noticed the newborn's breathing had become irregular while they were at home in Cape Road, Seaton near Workington. 

Debbie rushed her daughter through to A&E in Whitehaven, but baby Layla-Mae was unresponsive when she arrived. 

After she was revived, Layla-Mae was later taken to the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle - two hours from the family's home in Seaton. 

Doctors discovered she had three heart defects which meant at just two-weeks-old Layla-Mae needed a lifesaving operation. 

Two more were to follow when she was four and six-weeks-old. 

Debbie and her partner Phil Harkness, 27, also have a young son, three-year-old Macauley. 

Debbie, a support worker for the charity West House, said: "I'd bathed Layla as normal, but then she didn't wake for her last feed so I changed her and tried to rouse her when I noticed her breathing wasn't right. 

"It was fast and she seemed to be sucking in. 

"I called the midwife who said to call Cuedoc and as I was waiting for them to call back with an appointment my mum was with me and we decided we had to get there quickly. 

"By the time we got to A&E Layla was grey. A&E at Whitehaven was absolutely fantastic. They saved her life. They managed to resuscitate her and she went into the special care baby unit."

So grave was the situation that the young couple were asked if they wanted to christen their daughter. 

They were joined for the late-night ceremony by Debbie's parents Sharon and Paul, who also live in Seaton.

Debbie added: "When Layla was taken to Newcastle later there wasn't any space in the ambulance because they had a specialist team with her. We had to follow in my mum and dad's car.

"It was the longest journey of our lives. By the time we'd got there they'd already done the scan on her heart."

Layla-Mae's nurse in intensive care quickly contacted the charity which runs Scott House, based in the grounds of the hospital. 

Scott House is one of two 'homes from home' in Newcastle run by The Sick Children's Trust offering free accommodation for families of young patients. 

Debbie said: "Within 20 minutes of the nurse making the call someone was up on the ward giving us a key and telling us it was somewhere for us to stay.

"We didn't know it even existed but we ended up spending almost three months there. It was so nice to have somewhere close by, just five minutes away so we could still be close to Layla.

"We also have our son Macauley, he's only three, and we wanted to try and keep things as normal for him as possible. 

"He loves where he goes to school so he was at home but were able to have him across with us at weekends and at other times too. 

"We could do normal things with him like go to the park, or bake."

The family was given the best Christmas present on December 22 when Layla-Mae was allowed home. 

Layla-Mae still has a leaky valve that will need further surgery, possible when she is around a year old. 

Debbie said: "Layla's doing really well, is getting bigger and doing everything a baby of her age should be doing. 

"We've been going back for four-weekly checks but we've been told they're going to every eight weeks now." 

Debbie and Phil are raising money to help The Sick Children's Trust.

A charity night at the Trades Hall social club in Workington on February 12 is already a sell-out with 200 tickets snapped up. 

A large number of raffle prizes and donations have already been given but the couple hope for more to help boost their total. 

Debbie said: "We lived at Scott House for so long and we didn't have to pay a penny. We need to give them something back and keep it running for other families in similar circumstances." 

Debbie believes they've already reached their £2,000 target. 

Some funds were raised through donations given in lieu of flowers following the death of Debbie's grandfather Alexander Wilson, of Salterbeck, Workington. 

Sophie Douglas-Brown, of Lowca, is also helping the family after meeting Debbie at Scott House when their young children were both being treated at the hospital. 

The family is also supporting CHUF, the children's heart unit fund at the Freeman Hospital. 

Andrew Leadbitter, manager of Scott House, said: "It costs £28 per room to support a family for a night so this fundraiser will make a huge difference to many families who may find themselves in a similar situation." 

The Sick Children’s Trust also runs Crawford House at the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle. 

The family is also raising money online at https://www.justgiving.com/lyndsay-Smith4/