Person of the Month: Skyla's mum Sarah Craig

COURAGEOUS: Skyla Waters and her mum, Sarah Craig, who is July's Person of the Month. PHOTO/FILE

Sarah Craig is overwhelmed by the number of people her daughter touched during her short life.

Miss Craig is the Rotorua Daily Post's person of the month for July for her courage in sharing baby Skyla's journey.

The pair first appeared in the paper in July as they prepared for Skyla's open heart surgery. She shared their journey, both through the paper and on Facebook page Support for Skyla, as the tiny girl underwent two open-heart surgeries and battled a series of complications.

When Skyla died last week, Miss Craig shared her memories of Skyla and her battle.

During their journey more than 1000 people followed the Facebook page and the family received messages of support from Rotorua residents and strangers throughout the country.

Miss Craig couldn't be reached for comment, but previously said the family had been overwhelmed by the huge number of messages they had received.

She said the support of family, friends and complete strangers had helped make the loss a little more bearable.

Miss Craig described Skyla as a baby who captured people's hearts and brought people together.

"She literally changed our lives."

During the six months since Skyla was born, Miss Craig had to spend weeks at a time away from her family - including her partner and three sons - at Starship Hospital.