The family of a three-year-old Bradford girl who was born with half a heart are organising a fun day to celebrate her progress and raise funds for charities which have helped her.

Chloe May Wilde, of Thackley, has defied the odds and is making good progress according to mum Joanne.

Mrs Wilde was 21 weeks pregnant with Chloe May when she received the devastating news her daughter had a rare congenital heart condition, which means she has only half a heart. Along with her husband Daniel, the pair were given a stark choice between termination, comfort and care – which is when the child is born and allowed to die peacefully without treatment – or to put her forward for treatment straight after birth.

The couple wanted to give their child the chance of life, so after her birth on March 1, 2010, at Leeds General Infirmary Chloe May was taken to the Evelina Children’s Hospital in London for open heart surgery. Now three, Chloe May is living a normal life and has started nursery.

The fun day is being arranged exactly one year after Chloe May had her third open heart operation.

Mrs Wilde said the last operation saw surgeons do what they can with her heart. The next stage will be a transplant when she is a teenager. Mrs Wilde said: “She is doing really well now. We even managed to go on our first family holiday abroad to Majorca.

“The idea of the family fun day is to be, as the name suggests, pure fun for the children and for my other two children, my nine-year-old identical twins Holly and Aimee, who have had to deal with a lot of over the last three years.”

The event takes place on Saturday, September 21, at the Noble Comb public house in Salts Mill Road, Shipley from 1pm. The family have set up the Chloe May Fund to benefit four charities – the Evelina Children's Heart Organisation, the Children's Heart Surgery Fund, the British Heart Foundation and the Children's Acute Transport Service.