A DIARY which helped a Dalton woman through a life-saving heart operation has been celebrated at a national awards ceremony for its lasting impact.

Following a spell of breathlessness, Catherine MacKay, of Ulverston Road, found herself preparing for open heart surgery to replace one of her heart valves.

Sleepless nights caused by the apprehension of impending surgery led Mrs MacKay, 63, to document her journey through an illustrated diary.

She said: "Some patients find it helps to keep a diary and I thought I would do that. As I'm an artist, I did some sketches and kept a record of it.

"I was apprehensive. I didn't know what to expect but writing and drawing - it was really good. If you woke up and couldn't sleep, writing all your thoughts was a good way of channelling your feelings."

Mrs MacKay noticed she was losing her breath easily during mid-2015. After seeing her GP, who detected an irregular heartbeat, she was sent to a specialist who said one of her heart valves was defective and needed to be replaced urgently.

She went under the knife in September 2015 and has since made a full recovery.

She decided to send her collection of diaries and illustrations to the British Heart Foundation. She said she did this "in case it was of any use to put people's minds at ease."

Her submissions were taken up with gusto by the BHF. Her diary, entitled Snippets from a Hearty Diary , is now available for all future heart operation patients to see after it was published online.

Click here to see more of Mrs. MacKay's drawings.

She hopes that by showing people what to expect - from diagnosis to recovery - they can go into a heart operation with less of a burden on their minds.

She said: "I don't mind saying to people 'don't be worried about it'. They are marvellous people who do this. Once you put your faith in them, it's just excellent."

In September Mrs MacKay was invited to London to attend the 2017 British Medical Association Patient Information Awards. She was presented with a certificate highly commending her for creating her heart diary.

Click here to learn more about the British Heart Foundation.