WHEN her first-born child developed a dangerous facial birthmark threatening her eyesight, mother Lynn Bailey feared for the worst.

But thanks to the care of paediatric consultant Kokila Lakhoo, all her fears “disappeared” and her five-year-old daughter Beatrice is now fighting fit.

Mrs Bailey, of Banbury, said the medic’s passion for her work needs to be celebrated and nominated Dr Lakhoo for a Hospital Heroes award.

The awards celebrate the extraordinary work of Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust’s (OUHT) hospital workers.

Mrs Bailey said: “My daughter once asked me if Dr Lakhoo had wings because she is so amazing, she must be an angel. I’d certainly agree with that.

“I remember being in such a state, my baby did not look normal.

“I wasn’t coping until this amazing lady walked into the room and all my fears disappeared.”

Mrs Bailey said her daughter was born “perfectly fine” in January 2010 but within just a couple of days started to develop a large birthmark on her left cheek.

She said it grew “rather rapidly” and began to “protrude” into Beatrice’s left eye, before the blood-filled sac intruded into the whole of her eye socket and started squashing her eye.

Mrs Bailey said Beatrice was about five weeks old when their GP told the family to visit the John Radcliffe Hospital, where they later met Dr Lakhoo.

She said Beatrice then underwent four years of treatment using beta-blocker proparnolol to help shrink the size of the birthmark, with the youngster also needing laser surgery last year and further surgery this April to clean her “eye channels”.

After weekly appointments with Dr Lakhoo and at the Oxford Eye Hospital, Beatrice now only needs annual check-ups.

Mrs Bailey said Dr Lakhoo went above and beyond the call of duty to guide her through the treatment, which at times seemed never-ending. She said the medic was always at the end of the telephone to put all her worries to rest as a first-time mother and answering emails with any other concerns.

Mrs Bailey added: “She was amazing.

“I just feel from the moment we met her, she was in control and she knew what she was doing. She was nurturing.

“It was a really hard time. People would stop us in the street and say ‘What is that on your baby’s face?’.

“You don’t feel strong enough to deal with it all the time.

“I will never forget her kind words at each consultation knowing my goal was to have a child who society viewed as normal, she just helped in a way no one else did.”

Mrs Bailey said it was important for medics working within the county’s hospitals to be recognised for their care.

She added: “I think people are very quick to complain when something goes wrong but we should be more forthcoming when something goes right.”