A HEARTBROKEN mum is hoping to prevent others from going through the pain she did by raising awareness of the rare heart disease which took her daughter’s life.

Leilah Rachel Hayden was just 15-months-old when she died on January 13.

Her parents Alicia Mearns and John Hayden, from Noctorum, had no idea what lay ahead when they put the energetic toddler to bed the night before.

“She had been to nursery on morning and was a bit down, she had a bit of a fever but she perked up when I picked her up,” said Alicia, who is also mum to six-year-old Kendra and eight-year-old Alexia.

“I took her to Tesco shopping and put her to bed. We woke up late the next morning because Leilah usually woke us up. I went in to get my uniform for work and that’s when I found her.”

It took 12 weeks for Alicia and John to find out the cause of Leilah’s death had been myocarditis.

The illness is a disease marked by inflammation and damage of the heart muscle and accounts for thousands of sudden deaths each year.  

Despite the unimaginable grief suffered by Alicia and John, the couple have dedicated the last two months, setting up The Leilah Foundation to raise awareness of myocarditis and money towards research of the disease.

Saturday saw the foundation hold an open day at the family’s home in Fern Grove, featuring live music, face painting and a display from Bebington Sovereigns Majorettes.

Former Brookside actor Louis Emerick – one of the foundation’s patrons – cut the ribbon to ‘Leilah’s Palace’.

The event raised £535, which will go towards helping charities like Cardiac Risk in the Young.

Alicia said: “Leilah was lovely. She was happy. She loved Frozen and was always singing the songs. She was very clever, she had a funny sense of humour and loved nursery rhymes – we had nursery rhymes at her funeral instead of hymns. “

“It’s hard. Putting everything into the foundation has been helping me get through it but I’ve had bad days.

“I feel like a different person. It’s just about getting used to life. It’s hard to think about what’s happened.

“Her sisters miss her. Alexia mothers babies so Leilah was like her sidekick so she gets upset sometimes.”

Wirral Globe:

Alicia added: “Myocarditis is a very rare condition and if the foundation can help just save one person then we have done something right by helping parents from feeling this.

 “It keeps me going so I give it my everything as it is helping me along.”