"She wants to swim in the pool with her sisters and have a meal with her family and friends.”

Phelicity Sneesby suffers from a congenital heart defect, which depletes her stocks of protein.

At the end of last year, the teenager from Ballina in the Northern River region of New South Wales, was flown to the US to undergo what she and her family hoped would be a life-saving operation.

Unfortunately, it was unsuccessful and left Phelicity stranded in an Ohio hospital, unable to afford the enormous cost of flying home, estimated at more than US$150,000 due to the specialised medical support she requires.

A close friend of the family set up an online fundraising campaign with the hope of raising enough to get her home or, at the very least, pay for the flights for her father and three sisters to be flown to the US to be reunited with her and her mother.

In just a couple of days, more than $200,000 has been raised and Qantas has also offered assistance.

“I haven’t seen her smile this much for a long time,” Phelicity’s father Ben told the Sydney Morning Herald.

“She is so excited that she’s coming home and, who knows, this just might be enough to help her heal a little bit. You just don’t know. When our minds start to heal maybe our bodies can a little as well.

“I know the odds are stacked against her but we will fight for her as long as she fights.”

At this stage, it is hoped that Phelicity could be back in Ballina as early as Valentine’s Day on February 14, which, fittingly, is also International Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Day.

“She wants to swim in the pool with her sisters and have a meal with her family and friends,” Mr Sneesby said.

“She knows she is probably coming home to die. For you and I, home is where we go every day. For someone like Phelicity, it is a special treat. As a kid who has spent most of her life in hospitals, home is a special place,” Mr Sneesby said.