A grieving father has opened up about the horrifying night his six-year-old daughter died unexpectedly, falling gravely ill just hours before her death.
David Hutton, of Bury, Greater Manchester, knew almost immediately that there was something wrong with his six-year-old daughter Isla as he put her to bed one night.
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, David said: ‘She climbed into bed but wouldn’t settle down. It was just desperation because I knew something wasn’t right.’
Despite Isla being rushed to a nearby hospital, she tragically died on October 8, 2022, with the cause of death still unclear, Daily Mail reported.
It is thought that she may have suffered from cardiac arrest, or a seizure, as a result of a pre-existing condition she was diagnosed when when she was born in 2015.
The condition, long QT syndrome, or LQTS, is a heart signalling disorder. Affecting around one in every 2,000 people, it can cause arrhythmias (irregular heartbeats).
Isla’s heart problems were discovered by doctors very quickly, and the youngster was fitted with a pacemaker at just two-days-old.
David, who became a full-time carer for Isla, has noted how different life feels since her death.
The former primary school teacher said: ‘It feels like yesterday that she would come and climb on my knee, yet it feels like a lifetime ago.
‘I can see the impact she had on other people and it’s been comforting.’
He added that he was constantly by her side when she was in hospital, during which period he says time simultaneously felt like it was passing slowly, but also ‘flashing by’.
Speaking about his daughter, who was the mascot for biopharmaceutical company Thryv Therapeutics which is working on medications for LQTS among other conditions, he described her as ‘the happiest little girl’ you would meet.
During her time as Thryv Therapeutics, the six-year-old helped the company secure some $15million for its work in the US, as the driving force behind the team’s research.
David says that knowing Isla’s story is helping to fund research to fight against LQT is ‘bittersweet’, and that she ‘may go on to save countless lives’.
The organisation is currently running projects to honour Isla’s life, including funding an EPIC centre with Love The One charity.
