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Family ‘devastated’ as 2-year-old girl dies three years after brother | UK News

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Family ‘devastated’ as 2-year-old girl dies three years after brother | UK News

Toddler Isabelle Cooper plays with her little brother or sister.

Her mother wants her to be remembered as someone who lived “fearlessly, joyfully and spontaneously.” (Photo: Dr. Emily Cooper/@criminographer)

A toddler has died after being diagnosed with the same rare genetic disease that killed her three-year-old brother.

Isabelle Cooper, 2, died on Thursday, September 19, just three years after her brother Alexander died from the same heart condition. Boxing Day 2021.

Her mother, Dr. Emily Cooper, said their family is “absolutely devastated” by the death of “our beautiful Isabelle.”

Dr Cooper, a lecturer at the University of Central Lancashire, previously said she only became aware of Alexander’s condition two years after his death.

The mother of two later discovered that Isabelle had the same condition, called the PPA2 mutation, and that she and her daughter’s father, Darren Bowes, were also carriers.

Dr Cooper shared the tragic news with X on Thursday: ‘We are devastated to hear that our beautiful Isabelle passed away in the early hours of the morning. We are absolutely devastated.

“However, we do not want you all to think about her death, but to honor her by living as she did: fearlessly, joyfully and spontaneously.”


Isabelle Cooper sat in a high chair
Isabelle Cooper, 2, passed away on Thursday, September 19, just three years after her brother Alexander died from the same heart condition (Photo: X/@criminographer)

Doctor Emily Cooper on a slide with her daughter.
Her mother, Dr Emily Cooper, said their family is “absolutely devastated” by the death of “our beautiful Isabelle” (Photo: X/@criminographer)

Last year, the mother told an ITV news broadcast that Alexander had suffered from a ‘mild stomach illness’ on Christmas Day, from which they thought he had now recovered.

Dr. Cooper then went for a walk with her other son. When they got home, there were police cars outside their house.

“Someone said Alexander had had a seizure,” she told ITV.

‘I got to the hospital and was told that my husband had done a heroic job of CPR at home. They had gotten his heart going again, but they couldn’t keep it going.

“I saw them stop CPR and he died.”

It took two years after Alexander’s death for the family to learn that he suffered from a rare heart condition.

After tests were performed a year ago, it became clear that Isabelle had inherited the same gene.

Their other two children were not affected by the disease.

Dr. Cooper said she always carried a defibrillator with her in case her daughter went into cardiac arrest.


What is the PPA2 mutation?

The PPA2 mutation is a rare type of sudden arrhythmia.

It is a heart-related mutation that causes sudden cardiac arrest, often triggered by alcohol use or a viral infection.

The condition is thought to affect only 60 families worldwide and is more common in families with a history of the disease.

Symptoms may include chest pain, shortness of breath, palpitations, fainting, or seizures.

Friends of the Cooper family set up a GoFundMe page to support them after Isabelle’s death.

So far over £24,000 has been raised.

The message on the page reads: ‘It is truly heartbreaking to announce that Emily and her family have suffered another devastating loss with the passing of their two-year-old daughter, Isabelle.

‘Isabelle had a PPA2 deficiency, which can lead to sudden cardiac death in babies and young people. Emily also lost her three-year-old son Alexander to it in 2021.’

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