The bags have been packed at the Doran household for days, and there's a slight restlessness in the air, but the family isn't going on holiday this year.
And, as the youngest member of the family sings her favourite Disney song with her aunt, her mother watches closely. Any changes in two-year-old Stephanie and it's back to the hospital.
"Looking at her you wouldn't think there was anything wrong w
ith her", says worried mum Lisa, at the family's Knockalla Park home.
Stephanie was born with congenital heart disease, which means her heart is much weaker than other children's and sometimes the blood flows too fast causing her to go limp.
Lisa says "She was born with it but it wasn't detected until she started having chest infections. They always heard a wee murmur in her heart when she went to the doctor but they didn't know for sure what it was. And it was only noticeable when she was sick. What brought the whole thing on was that she took a gastric infection and the doctor examined her and found a 'gush' murmur, which he said was more serious than a slight murmur. So they sent her to a cardiac surgeon."
Stephanie was taken to hospital for a review and her mum was told the only way her daughter would see past her 15th birthday was to have open heart surgery. Now the family is waiting for the doctor to call with a hospital date so Stephanie can get the chance to live a normal life like the other toddlers on her street.
"I was just terrified when I heard it", Lisa said. "They have to stop her heart and put her on a by-pass to do the operation. They are hoping to close the hole in her heart and for it to regulate itself but if it doesn't she will have to go for another operation."
The majority of cases of congenital heart disease are in babies, says Lisa, because any problems are usually discovered at birth. And because Stephanie is older, the sooner she has the operation the better.
Lisa says: "Stephanie is a happy, jolly wee girl. But if she even takes an upset stomach we have to rush her to hospital. She just goes like a wee rag doll. About three weeks ago we had to rush her to hospital. She doesn't really get up during the night, (but] the next morning, it was about 10.30am, I noticed she was trying to throw up and was choking.
She started to go blue and I panicked and patted her back and she threw up. It's so scary when she gets sick. We got her to hospital and they kept her in for days."
The family is now waiting for the doctor to get in touch with a date for Stephanie's operation which could give her the chance to live a long and full life. Lisa has decided to tell her story to raise awareness of a charity which helps the families of children who suffer from heart problems.
Their fears on hearing about Stephanie's disease has been eased by Heartbeat, a Northern Ireland organisation which gives advice and support to parents when their children are in hospital for heart operations.
Lisa says: "We only have to lift the phone and ask them any questions. When we first found out, we walked out of the doctors in shock and the nurse came straight over and sat us down and asked us how we felt. I was in bits. She came back with all this information about Heartbeat and other things, anything I needed, phone numbers and contact details."
Sponsored walk
Now Stephanie's friends and family hope to raise some money for the charity by organising a sponsored walk of Derry's two bridges on March 30, starting from Sainsbury's at midday. And they are inviting anyone who wants to join them to contact Lisa on 07864249911. Or if you want to make a donation to the Heartbeat charity visit www.heartbeatni.co.uk.
Lisa says: "We are sitting with her bags packed now and waiting for her to go for her operation but it should be before 19 May. It is just a waiting game. We are just hoping now that it is sooner rather than later."
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