Her mum wants her to be remembered as living ‘fearlessly, joyously & spontaneously.’ (Picture: 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 of the same heart disorder on Boxing Day 2021.
Her mum, Dr Emily Cooper, said their family is ‘absolutely broken’ over the death of ‘our beautiful Isabelle’.
Dr Cooper, who is a lecturer at the University of Central Lancashire, previously revealed how she was unaware of Alexander’s condition until two years after he died.
The mother-of-two later found out that Isabelle had the same disorder, known as the PPA2 mutation, and that her and her daughter’s father, Darren Bowes, were also carriers.
Taing to X on Thursday, Dr Cooper shared the tragic news: ‘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.’
Isabelle Cooper, 2 , died on Thursday September 19, just three years after her brother Alexander died of the same heart disorder (Picture: X/@criminographer)
Her mum, Dr Emily Cooper, said their family is ‘absolutely broken’ over the death of ‘our beautiful Isabelle’ (Picture: X/@criminographer)
Appearing on ITV news last year, the mother said Alexander had been suffering from a ‘mild stomach bug’ on Christmas Day, which they thought he had recovered from.
Dr Cooper then went on a walk with her other son, and when they returned home there were police cars in front of their home.
‘Somebody said Alexander had had a seizure,’ she told ITV.
‘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.’
Following Alexander’s death, it took two years for the family to be told that he was suffering from the rare heart disorder.
After conducting tests, it was revealed a year ago that Isabelle had inherited the same gene.
Their other two children were unaffected.
Dr Cooper shared that she had begun carrying around a defibrillator, in case her daughter went into cardiac arrest.
What is the PPA2 mutation?
The PPA2 mutation is a rare type of sudden arrhythmia syndrome.
It is a heart related mutation that causes sudden cardiac arrest, often triggered by drinking alcohol or a viral infection.
The condition is thought to affect as few as 60 families worldwide and is more common in families with a history of the disease.
Symptoms can include chest pain, shortness of breath, palpitations, fainting or seizures.
Friends of the Cooper family have set up a GoFundMe page following Isabelle’s death to help support them.
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Over £24,000 has been raised thus far.
The message on the page reads: ‘It is truly heartbreaking to share that Emily and her family have suffered another devastating loss with the passing of their two-year-old daughter, Isabelle.
‘Isabelle had PPA2 deficiency, which can lead to sudden cardiac death in infants and young people. Emily also lost her three-year-old son Alexander to this in 2021.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
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