The Sudden Loss of Yet Another Child

This is Kate Livesey.  She even resembles Daniel.

Daniel, our son who died in 2008 of presumed Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome which was thought to likely be caused by something called Long QT Syndrome.   He had a negative autopsy, and a normal physical just weeks before.

               Kate Livesey was an energetic, healthy lovely nine year old girl who dreamed of being a pop star.   When she wasn't enjoying playing sports, she was singing and dancing.   It's hard for me to look into her beautiful little face and not be reminded of Daniel    They even look facially similar to me.    In February of 2014, Kate who was perfectly well, was found slumped in the bathtub in an apparent cardiac arrest.  She was immediately taken to the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital where she was ultimately pronounced dead on February 7th.

              There is so much about this case that breaks my heart.   Like Daniel, Kate was active and well and believed to be healthy.   Kate's mother was known to have an arrhythmia which had been treated, but no one thought it important to evaluate her children for potential Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome.  There were older family members in our family who had been treated for arrhythmia, and although I had asked if their issues had implications for our children, it had been thought not. Both children had a presumed diagnosis of Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome because post autopsy review of organ systems made their cause of death "unascertainable".   Neither child had any signs of structural heart disease.  Both Kate and Daniel had their first and last episode of arrhythmic death syndrome in bathrooms.  Both of them left an older brother named Matthew on Earth.

               My thoughts and prayers go out to the Livesey Family who are only just beginning this journey.
We need to do a better job at identifying children at risk for SADS and screening them in advance.  More research needs to be done in how we can better identify families with children at risk.   Saving even one family from such a cataclysmic loss of a healthy child, is a worthy goal.


To donate in the memory of Kate to her family:

https://www.justgiving.com/Suzanne-Livesey/

 
                                

References for this post:

 http://www.mancunianmatters.co.uk/content/140769762-singing-girl-9-who-dreamed-being-next-cheryl-cole-died-without-warning-muamba


 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2691241/Fit-active-nine-year-old-girl-dies-suddenly-struck-heart-condition-Fabrice-Muamba-bath.html