Devastated Eileen Pritchard today revealed that she and her husband, David, are now scared to leave their 20-month-old daughter, Daisy, alone "even for a second".

The Penycae family's nightmare began when Daisy was diagnosed with a heart defect last month and the couple were told that she would need surgery as soon as possible.

The toddler was taken to Alder Hey children's hospital, in Liverpool, where the open heart surgery was performed on June 27 but there were complications and Daisy's condition deteriorated.

Eileen said: "She went downhill after the operation and became dehydrated. They told me to administer fluids.

"We didn't know at that time that she had had a stroke but because she had, she couldn't swallow."

Daisy was transferred back to intensive care where she spent the next five days on a life support machine.

Her condition improved and she was eventually discharged nine days after the operation.

"We went home and she gradually got worse. She couldn't move her right side and her face had drooped.

"We took her to Wrexham Maelor and they diagnosed a stroke," Eileen added.

A scan at Alder Hey confirmed the Maelor's diagnosis and having had to come to terms with their daughter's heart condition a few weeks before, Eileen and David now had to deal with the fact that she'd had a stroke.

Eileen says that her daughter is clearly in a lot of distress, particularly at night, and that she and David are scared to leave her alone for a second.

Daisy has improved over the past few weeks following the efforts of her mum and dad. They have taken her swimming almost daily and have come up with various ideas to stimulate her.

"We painted her toes yellow on one foot and blue on the other and we have been encouraging her to 'move the yellow foot' and then 'move the blue one'," Eileen explained.

"She can now move her leg again but still has no movement in her arm."

Eileen has also been in touch with the Wrexham branch of the Stroke Association who, she says, have "kept her sane" over recent weeks.

"They have been fantastic," she said. "They are arranging for her to go to a specialist neurological centre in Colwyn Bay."

Lyn Siebenmann, of The Stroke Association in North Wales said that they would be doing all they can to help Daisy.

She said that there are 10,000 stroke victims every year snd that a quarter of them are under 65-years-old.

Of that number, about 400 are children.

As well as dealing with the effects of the stroke, Eileen and David are now trying to come to terms with the fact their daughter will need further surgery on her heart in the future.

Daisy's parents have also raised a number of concerns about the level of care their daughter has received and have expressed these to both hospitals involved.

Andrew Scotson, spokesman for North Wales NHS Trust, said: "Although the trust cannot make detailed comment on particular patient cases, we can confirm that we are working with colleagues in Alder Hey Hospital to arrange the most appropriate specialist treatment for Daisy.

"A multi-disciplinary team meeting has been arranged for this week to bring together all the health professionals involved in her case to discuss and agree the on-going care that she requires.

"The paediatric department at Wrexham Maelor Hospital has a strong working relationship with Alder Hey Hospital and a long history of shared care arrangements to ensure that children from the Wrexham area can benefit from Alder Hey's expertise while receiving the majority of their care locally."

A spokesman for Royal Liverpool Children's NHS Trust said: "The trust is aware of this case and we are currently in close contact and have ongoing conversations with the mother. As we are unable to discuss individual cases we are unable to give further details at this time."