Baby waiting for heart transplant doing well, say parents

Lillian O'Connor, an Island infant waiting for a heart transplant at Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto, is doing well, her parents told CBC News in an email Tuesday.

Lillian was born to Melanie Bernard and Kevin O'Connor of Stratford, P.E.I., on March 9. Her heart has a hole in it, and she suffers from a condition called truncus arteriosus, which leaves her blood short on oxygen.

"So far so good. She is now feeding a little," the parents wrote.

"We are at 5 ml of milk and she seems to be doing well. They will keep a close eye on her but she seems to be tolerating it very well. She is very hungry now that she has had a taste. I think that alone will just keep her fighting longer."

Lillian is being fed her mother's milk through a fake nipple and syringe.

"She takes it all really quickly. If we are ever late with it, she lets us know," they wrote.

Lillian is being given drug treatments to keep her going, but will need a heart transplant if she is to survive more than a few months.