A COURAGEOUS 28-year-old Bala mother-of-two is campaigning for people to “bare their scars with pride” following her life-saving open heart surgery.

She is also calling for more people to fund-raise for the British Heart Foundation after their research has allowed her to see her children grow up.

Shell Williams was born with a faulty heart valve. Until recently this condition was under control due to medication, but after the birth of her second child Harry in 2013 her heart health rapidly declined and she was told she needed major heart surgery or she “wouldn’t make it to 30”.

“At that moment when the doctor told me the news, I felt like the world had stopped,” Shell told the Cambrian News.

“I was so scared – I had two amazing children and now I may not be here for them.

“When I went in for my operation my surgeon told me that without surgery I had less than five years to live.

“At 26 years old that was a very scary situation to be in.

“Fortunately for me the heart valve was repaired, but for many in my situation this isn’t the case and metal or pig-tissue valves have to be fitted."

See full story in this week’s Meirionnydd edition of the Cambrian News