IT was a precious moment with their toddler they never imagined would be the last.

Mesmerised by the clouds whizzing past, angelic Pixxie Dunham tilted her head to the sky, smiled and pointed up, bringing joy to her doting parents Donna and Lance on a family day out.

But 23-month-old Pixxie suffered from an extremely rare heart and lungs condition affecting just one in 1.2 million people and just hours later she suffered an attack so severe, it ended her life.

Weeks later, on what should have been her second birthday, Donna and Lance buried their little girl.

"Suddenly a part of you dies,” said Donna.

“We had gone out shopping for the day and she was bouncing around everywhere.

"Everything Pixxie took in her stride. She was rarely unhappy, always smiling and full of life. She was very intelligent and developing very quickly. She was our little star.

“You never would think later on she would be gone forever.”

Three weeks earlier their normally healthy toddler Pixxie had suddenly collapsed at the family home in Wimpson Lane, Millbrook and had to be rushed to Southampton General Hospital.

Donna, explained: “She fell over and that was it, she was screaming and she went blue and floppy. It was devastating.”

Doctors diagnosed her with acute pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) - a condition that affects the heart and the lungs and leaves the sufferer breathless, exhausted and prone to heart failure.

PAH is caused by a narrowing of the blood vessels that lead from the heart to the lungs and when these narrow, it becomes harder and harder to pump blood through to a person's lungs.

The couple were told Pixxie was seriously ill and the only treatment would be a lung transplant when Pixxie was old enough.

"Nobody had any idea that Pixxie was so ill," said Lance, 29.

“There were no real signs that anything was wrong. We did notice that she was out of breath very occasionally. But it just came out of the blue when she had an attack, almost like a heart attack.”

Pixxie was transferred to London's Great Ormond Street Hospital where she stayed for four weeks and was told she also had a hole in her heart.

Donna, said: “You don’t take it in, even though they tell you that your child has a heart and lung condition and she did spend time in intensive care, you look at some of the other children and feel lucky, she didn’t seem so ill but little did we know at that time.”

After her stay at GOSH, Pixxie was allowed home and was due to have regular check-ups with a view to having a heart and lung transplant when she was old enough.

Despite being connected to oxygen 24 hours a day and constantly having medication , Pixxie perked up and weeks later on their day out to Gunwharf Quays in Portsmouth, she was her normal bubbly self.

Later though, in the early hours of October 20 last year, she suffered a severe attack and did not recover.

Donna, said: “It was literally like she was fine and suddenly she wasn’t.

"It’s very hard. That’s your baby and suddenly you haven’t got her anymore. It is something you never get over.

“You have two options, let it destroy you which is never going to bring her back or try to be positive and concentrate on keeping her memory alive.”

Heartbroken, the couple channelled their grief into ensuring Pixxie will never be forgotten by fundraising for those who cared for her in her final weeks and so far through a golf day and smaller events, £6,000 has been raised.

The family have set up a Pixxie Dunham Brighter Future Fund page on Facebook to raise money for GOSH and to support research into pulmonary hypertension.

Now, to mark the first anniversary of her death, Lance is gearing up to take on the Morrisons Great South Run in Portsmouth on Sunday, October 25 in her memory. He said as he runs the 10 mile route which is close to where they spent their final family day he will remember her beaming face.

Lance, who is a self employed carpenter and roofer, said; " “I really just want to tell more people about pulmonary hypertension because it’s not a cause that gets as much publicity or support as others and it can be difficult to spot – sometimes it looks like asthma or a more minor condition.

“There’s not a day goes past we don’t miss her. Nothing is going to change now and it’s just a case of keeping that little smiling face going as long as possible.

“There is an image I have of Pixxie all the time when I would walk through the front door from work and she’d run up to me and jump in my arms.

“Anything we can do to help raise money or awareness of the condition in Pixxie’s memory means that some good can come out of losing our little girl.”

The Morrisons Great South Run will take place in Portsmouth on Sunday, October 25 and is the world’s leading 10-mile running event. Enter at greatrun.org/south

Lance also hopes to be able to get a place to compete in the London Marathon next year and is looking for a sponsor.