Proud mum's joy as record-breaking heart transplant daughter, 5, reaches major milestone

As she snapped a picture of five year-old Amelia Bolter in her school uniform this week, mum Jodie was incredibly proud. In 2024, Amelia broke records by becoming the longest-waiting child on a Berlin heart for a heart transplant. Now here she was by the front door, ready for her first day of reception. Jodie, 34, told the Mirror: “I hadn’t dared to dream this day would come. We’d spent 18 months living at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) in London, living day by day, missing milestones. Seeing her in her uniform, excited to get to class, I could have burst with pride.” Jodie, who gave up her factory job to care for Amelia, lives in Chippenham, Wiltshire, with her husband Rich, 35, a postman. The couple have three children, Amelia, Blossom, three and Ellis, 15 months. Amelia was born premature at 31 weeks with a heart condition called SVT, which causes the heart to beat much faster than normal. Jodie says: “You can outgrow it with medication, and by the time she was one she was given the all clear.” But in June 2022, when Amelia was 18 months old, she developed what her parents first assumed was a routine ear infection. However, once examined at the GP, her heart rate was sky high, spiking between 180 and 220 beats per minute, and she was blue lit to Bristol Children’s Hospital in heart failure. Jodie says: “I was 11 weeks pregnant with Blossom at the time. We were there for four months, then Amelia's condition rapidly worsened as she developed sepsis, pneumonia, and several other infections. Doctors eventually told us that the only way she would survive would be to transfer to GOSH to be placed on a Berlin heart as she waited for a transplant.” Amelia went on the Berlin heart, a mechanical pump that sits outside the body to help weak hearts circulate blood, in November 2022 aged 21 months. Jodie says: “We moved into charity funded accommodation close to the hospital and Rich was able to transfer his job as a postie to London. We were there for 18 months. We lived out of a suitcase and would go home every season to get a new set of clothes. I gave birth to Blossom down the road at UCLH in December and she joined us.” Then in Spring 2024, they got the call: a heart was available. Jodie says: “It’s a surreal experience because you’ve waited for this moment for so long, hoped the phone would ring every day for 18 months, and then when it does… you can’t believe it.” Amelia underwent the transplant that day, which was a success. Jodie says: “We were over the moon. We called all our family and friends. It had finally happened. It was the first day of a bright and brilliant new chapter.” Three weeks later the overjoyed family were allowed home, where they had to isolate for three months to shield Amelia from bugs as she recovered and grew stronger. Jodie says: “Then we spent the summer meeting family and friends outdoors. It was like breathing out.” It’s not all plain sailing for little Amelia. Jodie says: “She’s had developmental delays, so is technically a two and a half year old. She is classed as non-verbal and uses Makaton to communicate. She learned to walk with the Berlin heart and as a result has a wide gait as the wire used to run between her legs. “We also have to be super careful of bugs, because her heart isn’t strong enough to tackle infections like everyone else.” The future is uncertain. Jodie says: “We were told that people with heart transplants might not live a long life, but a happy life. So we take every day as it comes. We celebrate everything. Christmas, Easter, Halloween… you name it, we go big for it. We’re so blessed to have her home with us.” But since leaving GOSH, little Amelia is thriving. Jodie says: “Every day is a gift. She’s able to do all the things a five year old loves: the park, the zoo, even her friends’ birthday parties. Moments we once dreamed about.” But the biggest milestone so far came this week, when Amelia was able to start school. Jodie says: “We deferred her a year, so she’s just started school, and she’s settled in like a champ. It’s a mainstream school but she’s so bright, we’re sure she’s going to love it. This week has been so emotional. We couldn’t be more proud of our little superstar.“ *Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity (GOSH Charity) exists to give seriously ill children the best chance, and best childhood possible. To find out more, visit gosh.org