More than £2,000 has been raised by the parents of a brave little "fighter" who, in the six months given to her, battled numerous medical conditions with a smile.

Little Maisie Keverne was just two weeks old when she had open heart surgery and sepsis - but she fought through and was soon back home with her parents Hannah and Ben, who grew up in Breage and attended Helston Community College.

A few weeks later they discovered she was profoundly deaf. The family hoped that would be the worst of it, but sadly not long afterwards they found she had severe hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and a potential metabolic disorder, which meant she might not make her first birthday.

Her mum, Hannah Chapman, said: "We were devastated, but decided to give her the very best life we could, making the most of the time we did have with her. We had five beautiful months with her, mainly at home, making beautiful memories with family and friends."

It was at this point that Maisie started to become ill with infections, with the family taking her in and out of hospital.

One day, during a routine appointment, she suddenly became very unwell and went into cardiac arrest.

"The doctors did their very best to try to save her, but it wasn't to be. Our darling daughter died in our arms," said Hannah, who lives with Ben and their son Lowen in Tresillian.

Maisie died on November 21, around a week before her six-month birthday, as a result of mitochondrial disease.

Also known as 'mito' for short, it is the term given to a group of medical disorders caused by mutations in mitochondria, the tiny organelles present in every cell of a person's body that generate around 90 per cent of the energy needed to live.

There is currently no known cure, but the Lily Foundation is working to fund research into the illness in the hope of one day finding one.

It is for this reason that Maisie's family hope to raise as much money as possible for the charity, both to raise awareness of its work and fund future research, through a Just Giving page at justgiving.com/fundraising/our-amazing-maisie.

Hannah said: "Mitochondrial disease is a horrible life limiting illness. It takes everyone by surprise, often hiding, and is sometimes not found until after death. Research is only just beginning, so there really is the potential there to find a cure.

"We would be so grateful if Maisie's life wasn't in vain, and we could raise money for the Lily Foundation in her honour. We really hope that one day, beautiful babies like Maisie are given the lives they deserve.

"We will spend the rest of our lives wondering what could have been and who she would have become. But we are also so, so grateful for the six months she gave and fought for us. We have adored being her parents, and are so, so proud of her and her brother Lowen.

"She will live on in us forever and ever, and our love for her will never fade."