LITTLE Ashleigh Louw is a pin-up girl for courage and the will to live. Born with a rare congenital heart defect that has caused part of her heart lying outside her ribcage, she on Sunday came through the first of what is expected to be a series of operations to correct this, with flying colours.

LITTLE Ashleigh Louw is a pin-up girl for courage and the will to live. Born with a rare congenital heart defect that has caused part of her heart lying outside her ribcage, she on Sunday came through the first of what is expected to be a series of operations to correct this, with flying colours.

Barely a month old, Ashleigh has already taught many of us who have been around for decades a thing or two about the desire to live even when the odds conspire against being hopeful.

Baby Ashleigh epitomises the best of the human spirit. She has refused to be swayed by statistics - her condition affects one out of every million babies and has a 50 percent survival rate - and showed an amazing fighting spirit.

We join the rest of her family, who at the weekend commended her fighting spirit. We hold thumbs for Ashleigh, our little fighting princess.