Little Kallista Heavey was just eight months old when she died suddenly in Paris of what was initially thought to be an allergic reaction.
In the space of just a day, the bubbly baby turned into a very sick child because of what was later found to be heart disease.
Now her family are campaigning to raise awareness of her tragic illness.
The family had gone to Disneyland Paris in September as a birthday treat for Kallista’s mum Debby, a former Limbrick Wood Primary School teacher, who turned 40 the day her baby died.
Kallista’s dad, Tome Heavey, aged 42, police inquiries officer, said her illness cam out of the blue.
The former Bishop Ullathorne School pupil said: “There were no signs and the first we knew she was sick, and then the following morning her breathing became laboured.
“We called a doctor out and he suggested we get an ambulance to take her to hospital.
“Even when she was there the doctors thought it was an allergic reaction and she would be fine.
“Later on we went back to see she was sitting up and looked fine again. It was later on that evening that she took a turn for the worst.”
She was in hospital just 15 hours before she died. A post mortem examination revealed she had contracted the heart disease Myocarditis.
It is relatively common but in some cases can be so severed it leads to the impairment of the heart’s pumping function, killing eight children and young people every week.
Now living in Stoke-on-Trent, the family are keen to raise awareness of the illness which robbed them of their precious girl.
Despite her short life, Tome said he is never short of memories of the baby girl he calls ‘the little sunshine girl’. He said: “I think about her every day.”
Debby, now an assistant head teacher said: “We always say a baby is beautiful but there was something about her. She wanted to take everything in.
“Because she died on my birthday, celebrations have gone out of the window now. How can you open cards and sing happy birthday?”
“They say life begins at 40 and in my case it has, just in a different way, because I don’t get as het up about things, or have to have the latest gadgets. Family was always important to me but now I value the time that we have even more.”
Kallista’s grandmother Nora Heavey, aged 75, of Winslow Close, Allesley Park, described her devastation when she heard the news of her 10th grandchild’s death.
She said: “I collapsed when I found out. I remembered when I first held her two days after she was born and there was an instance connection. I cannot explain it to anybody but the bond was so great. I couldn’t stop crying for three months.”
She also told how it had brought back memories of her own loss – the death of a daughter who died aged just two.
The charity CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young) is raising funds to help screen heart-related conditions in babies and youths.
Eight members of Kallista’s family, including sister Athena, aged and brother, Xander, aged four, will take part in the charity’s eight bridges walk in London on Sunday, July 15 and hope to raise £500 for the cause.
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