Tragedy as ‘beautiful’ little girl dies leaving parents ‘absolutely broken’ – 3 years after her brother suddenly died
A HEARTBROKEN family have paid tribute to their “beautiful” little girl who tragically died three years after her brother.
Isabelle Cooper passed away in the early hours of yesterday morning, after being diagnosed with the same rare genetic disorder as her late brother Alexander.
In a heart-wrenching statement on X, mum Dr Emily Cooper wrote: “We are devastated to say that our beautiful Isabelle died in the early hours of this morning.
“We are absolutely broken. However, we want you all not to think of her death, but to honour her by living life as she did: fearlessly, joyously & spontaneously.”
The devastated family previously opened up about the death of the son Alexander in 2021.
The youngster had suffered a cardiac arrest, which they later discovered was caused by a rare genetic mutation.
After being told of his diagnosis, two years after the tragedy, Emily was informed her other children could be at risk of the same fate.
When they were informed of the genetic mutation Emily said: “At first I was elated… After all this time there’s something to explain what happened to our lovely boy.
“The gene mutation – you sort of naturally assume it’s only something that would have happened to him.
“But as the call went on I realised it’s actually a recessive inherited condition, and I realised that oh no, it was a recessive that the other children are at risk.”
Genetic testing later revealed Isabelle carried the gene, however Emily’s son Freddie, and other daughter were unaffected.
The family carried a defibrillator with them, donated by the Oliver King Foundation, after learning Isabelle’s condition.
Emily previously spoke to ITV about Alexander’s death and said he’d complained of a tummy bug on Christmas Day, but appeared to recover by Boxing Day.
The mum took her other son out for a walk, but returned home in shock to see ambulances in their drive.
She said: “Somebody said Alexander had had a seizure… I got to the hospital and was told my husband had done a heroic job of CPR at home, on his own, they’d managed to get his heart going again, but they just couldn’t sustain it.
“I watched them withdraw CPR and he died.”
The family were in “disbelief” as their little boy had displayed no symptoms of any illness before his passing.
They now want to raise awareness and for others to be given access to genetic testing to avoid going through the same trauma they have.
Emily’s family were able to get the testing after Alexander’s death through the charity SUDC – Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood.