WHEN she coughs, you can see her heart pumping – literally. The little girl’s heart, the size of a fist, beats gently outside her stomach, protected by only a thin layer of skin.
Six-year-old Virsaviya Borun from Russia suffers from thoraco-abdominal syndrome or Pentalogy Of Cantrell, a rare condition that has caused her heart and intestines to develop outside her body. She also doesn’t have abdominal muscles or a diaphragm.
“When I was pregnant the doctor said she wouldn’t survive – that she was going to die,” her mom, Dari, says.
But Virsaviya has continued to thrive despite the diagnosis.
Like many other girls her age, she enjoys dancing to Beyoncé, doing splits and taking art classes. “I like to draw Jesus, ponies and angels,” says Virsaviya, who also goes…
