Beth Tulloch hasn't had an easy childhood, but the schoolgirl born with heart defects is now well enough to tackle her dad at their favourite martial arts... and win. Health Editor Barry Nelson reports.

SCHOOLGIRL Beth Tulloch is passionate about the high-energy Korean martial art tae kwon do. So when the Darlington ten-year-old was awarded a black belt in her chosen sport this summer, her parents Ian and Joy were proud as punch.

Watching the Mowden Junior School pupil going through her vigorous paces in her parents' back garden, dressed in her white tae kwon do gear, it is difficult to believe that she was born with a major heart abnormality which would need a top cardiac surgeon's expertise to give her the chance to lead a normal life.

Beth's story begins at Darlington Memorial Hospital a decade ago.

Joy, now 40, recalls that she had an uneventful first pregnancy and, when Beth was born, she appeared to be a healthy, normal baby.

But within 24 hours paediatricians had detected an abnormal heartbeat and recommended that the baby be transferred to the specialist children's heart unit at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle.

Three days after her birth, Beth was taken by ambulance to the Tyneside heart unit, and after a battery of tests, checks and scans, Beth's anxious parents were told the worst.

"We were told that Beth had no direct flow between her heart and lungs," her mother recalls. "Instead of a single, major artery, Beth had lots and lots of tiny blood vessels."

While this unconventional 'plumbing' was not an immediate threat to Beth's life, without major surgery to improve the connection between her heart and lungs, her outlook was poor.

Initially shocked by the revelations, Joy and Ian decided they just had to get on with life.

"Because Beth was our first child, we didn't have any other experiences. For us, what happened was 'normal', I suppose", says Ian, who is now 38. "It was certainly a very rude awakening to the joys of parenthood," adds Joy.

Experts at the Freeman advised the Tullochs that it was too early to attempt corrective surgery, but once Beth was a bit older and stronger, she would have to have major open-heart surgery, a procedure which always carries a significant element of risk.

The first operation took place at the Freeman Hospital when Beth was only six months old. When heart surgeon Leslie Hamilton opened up her chest cavity, he was surprised at the extent of her unorthodox plumbing. He used an artificial 'stent', an implantable prosthesis which allows surgeons to bypass blocked or restricted blood vessels.

"It seems that Beth had lots and lots of small blood vessels to compensate for the lack of a direct connection between her heart and lungs," recalls Joy.

A year later Mr Hamilton carried out a second, similar operation, improving blood flow between her heart and lungs with another stent.

Initially worried that a second child might also have heart defects, Ian and Joy underwent genetic tests. But after being told that the chances of having another child with cardiac abnormalities were remote, the couple decided to expand their family. Now Beth has two brothers and a sister, Joe, aged eight, and five-year-old twins Katy and Harry.

For Beth's first few years, Joy and Ian kept a close watch on their daughter, fearfully looking for signs of problems. But apart from getting breathless after running and having distinctly blue lips and fingernails - a sign of poorly oxygenated blood circulation - Beth was a pretty normal child.

As each birthday passed the day approached when Beth would have to be admitted for 'the big one', but the Tullochs were given so much information and reassurance by the team at the Freeman Hospital that they felt confident about the coming ordeal.

"Mr Hamilton has been wonderful. He spent as much time as we wanted explaining what was going to happen and talking us through the procedures," recalls Joy.

It was in June 2000 that the family travelled up to the Freeman again, this time for major 're-plumbing' designed to allow the five-year-old to develop normally.

The long operation, carried out by a team led by Mr Hamilton, sliced open Beth's heart, patched a hole between the pumping chambers and restored adequate blood flow between her vital organs. The procedure also involved implanting a donated human heart valve.

Beth pulls a face when the topic of heart valve comes up, because one of the options was using a pig's heart valve.

"He chose the donated human valve, which will eventually need replacing in Beth's mid-teens because it will stiffen and calcify," her mum says.

Beth's parents noticed a real difference after her 'plumbing job'. "After the operation she turned a lovely shade of pink... it was wonderful," says Joy.

"She suddenly developed a real zest for life after surgery," says Ian.

"She had five years worth of physical activity to catch up on and she threw herself into everything that was going."

Before the operation Beth was prone to bronchitis and had to be watched carefully. When she developed pneumonia, she was admitted to hospital for observation. "I was told I could eat as much chocolate as I liked, as long as I ate something," giggles Beth.

The schoolgirl has to go back to the Freeman for regular check-ups but the family look forward to seeing Mr Hamilton, who has corresponded with Beth since her operation.

After surgery, Beth blossomed. "She joined a lot of clubs which were now open to her, Darlington Swimming Club and tae kwon do," her father says.

The interest in tae kwon do runs in the family. When Ian and Joy met at Sheffield University, Ian was already keen on the Korean martial art.

Joy dabbled for a while but eventually gave up.

"Beth showed an interest in tae kwon do. As a parent you have two choices: sit back and watch or join in. It was a great opportunity to get back into it," says Ian.

So when Ian is not at the Sembcorp plant at Wilton, where he is operations manager, he can often be found practising tae kwon do holds and moves alongside Beth. Both have now attained black belt status in the sport.

"It took her about four and a half years to get this far so she has done really well," says Ian.

Joy can't disguise her pleasure watching her husband and daughter practising moves on the lawn. "We have had some really tough times. To see them like this now is wonderful," she says.

But for Beth, best of all is when she gets the better of her dad. "It's great when I throw him," she laughs.