A woman from Co Antrim has followed her dreams and opened her own business despite being given a 50% chance of survival just a few years ago.
Speaking to Belfast Live about her experience, Demi wishes to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of the condition, while inspiring others to follow their dreams. "There was never a proper investigation into what the issue was, when I was a baby and had fits, when I went to the hospital the fit had already happened. Any ECG I had would be after the fit, and was just showing my heart was normal."
"They put the reoccurring infections down to post viral fatigue because of glandular fever - I was taken into hospital with quincy and kept in for three days and they still didn't catch on that I had an issue with my heart." "My mum was alerted from the college I wasn't waking up, and she called the GP saying something needed to be done. The GP said because I was over 16 I had to give consent to speak to the doctor - even though I was unconscious on the floor at the time, she was ringing my phone.
The 23-year-old said: "For the past 16 years, doctors had been telling me I was okay, I was making things up, it was all just my hormones. I was almost grateful to find out it wasn't all in my head, and I wasn't going mad. Aged 17, Demi took a gamble and had the corrective surgery that saved her life. Now, she had opened her own business, and is keen to make a change, with a focus on fundraising to help those who find themselves in a similar position to her younger self.