A CHIRK toddler has been announced as the face of Hope House Children’s Hospices' Christmas appeal, which launches across the region this week.

Esmay Parry’s picture will be on the front of some 25,000 envelopes landing through doormats this week as the charity launches its annual winter appeal, where people can both donate online and in post or can choose to support by entering a raffle for £1 a ticket, which has a jackpot of £6,000.

Esmay’s mum and dad Kim and Richard don’t know what the future holds for their ‘little warrior’ so they are determined to pack every day with fun and laughter to build precious memories to treasure.

READ MORE: Jason Manford meets families at Oswestry's Hope House

“Esmay is nearly three, but with her diagnosis and her complex condition anything can happen,” said mum Kim.

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“She’s partially deaf, she can barely see in one eye and she needs more operations on her heart, but she’s always got a smile on her face even when she is feeling really poorly.

“She’s only just learning to walk, which we never thought she’d be able to do, and she shouldn’t be able to talk but she’s trying and can already say a few words such as Mum and Dad and no!

“But it’s seeing her six brothers and sisters and her Nanny Parry that really makes her face light up.

“They all love the bones of her and Esmay is the little warrior of our family. She’s the youngest but she’s the boss!”

Kim and Richard discovered that Esmay had a heart problem even before she was born.

After a scan at 21 weeks they faced a heart-breaking decision when they were told that their unborn baby was unlikely to survive birth. They were asked whether they wanted to terminate the pregnancy.

“We’d felt her kicking and we wanted her to have a chance at life so we put our foot down and said no,” says Kim.

“Luckily Sian, the Neonatal Nurse from Hope House, was in the hospital to see someone else and was at the meeting so she supported us. She was amazing and really on our side.

“She helped us and told us all about what Hope House could do to support us, whatever the future held. I was scared because I could already feel Esmay moving and the thought of coming to a hospice blew my mind.”

Esmay was born by caesarean section to avoid putting a strain on her heart and taken straight to the hospital’s special care baby unit before being transferred to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital the next day.

With Esmay recovering from major heart surgery at just 11 days old, Hope House was able to offer the family step down care to bridge the gap between hospital and returning home.

And now to Kim and Richard, the nurses at Hope House are part of their family, even joining in wedding preparations.

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Kim said: “The nurses had decorated Esmay’s wheelchair pram with ribbons, bows and flowers to match her dress.

“She looked so beautiful that we just cried. We all had such a wonderful day with everyone wanting to be photographed with Esmay.”

To enter the charity’s Christmas Raffle, head to www.hopehouse.org.uk/esmay