A girl with a number of serious health conditions has been crowned a princess by her town.
Eloise Sharpe, age 10, has not had the easiest start in life, despite the love and care of her family and friends.
At six weeks old Eloise's parents were informed by doctors that their daughter's heart 'wasn't compatible with life'.
In need of a heart and lung transplant Eloise was transferred to a hospice for end of life care, before her parents sought a second opinion at Birmingham Children's Hospital.
This proved to be a life-saving move, and Eloise undertook open surgery at just 12 weeks old.
Since then Eloise, from Attleborough, has had two further heart surgeries and many other cardiac interventions.
Now the community has made sure Eloise is treated like royalty by crowning her carnival princess at the Attleborough Carnival, alongside fellow Morley Church of England School pupil Louis Thorpe as prince.
The list of what the 10-year-old suffers from is daunting - congenital heart disease, digeorge syndrome, a cleft palate, gastrostomy and cerebral palsy, a complex, absent pulmonary artery from her heart to her lungs, and a large VSD (hole in the heart) - to name a few.
Her mother, Sharon Sharpe said: 'The condition is palliative. There is no fix for this kind of heart condition.
'Some discussion earlier this year they decided it was too risky to operate. They have discussed with us if she thrives to adulthood she may need a heart and lung transplant which is very rare in this country and high risk.
'But it doesn't slow my little girl down. She fulfils and loves life and we try to access as much as her peers do to give that quality of life that her cardiac consultants would be proud of.'
Eloise is particularly fond of ballet, and recently took part in the Stardance Summer Show at Norwich Playhouse.
Mrs Sharpe said: 'It was an emotional proud mum moment. Then a week later she applied for Attleborough Town Carnival Princess, a huge milestone bearing in mind her recent surgery on her palate to enhance her speech, that she went up and answered some questions in front of judges.
'My heart ached. She loved it and when asked she said it made her happy. That's all we ask.'
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