Influencer Melissa Mae Carlton and husband Tom Carlton have suffered an unimaginable loss when their daughter Molly passed away on Christmas Day this year, just a year after they lost their 9-year-daughter Abigail.
“On Christmas morning, our sweet Molly girl, and her big sister Abi were reunited,” Melissa wrote on Instagram Dec. 26. “This is the only thing giving me even a small sense of comfort. Molly missed her sister so deeply.”
The couple, who also share son Harry and daughter Lily, were “devastated” and “in disbelief.”
“We are exhausted and shaken after a day filled with trauma and heartbreak,” Melissa wrote. “I feel numb, I cannot yet accept that this is real. I am not ready for this pain.”
She added that the amount of love, support, and prayers her family received was overwhelming.
“I am scared of what life looks like now for us,” she dded. “I am heartbroken for our children.”
“Last night, through tears, Harry told me that when we boarded the plane to Arizona on Monday, Molly leaned over and told him she wanted to be with Abi,” Melissa recalled. “Through sobs, he said, ‘She got what she wanted.’”
Melissa shared that while the family doesn’t yet have an official cause of death for Molly, they do have some answers as doctors suspect both their daughters could be suffering from the same genetic condition.
“I hesitate to share a medical update already because we still don’t have an official diagnosis. But I do feel it’s important to let people know that we have some answers this time,” Melissa provided in an update on Instagram. “The doctors believe Molly had a genetic heart condition and suspect this may have been the case with Abi as well.”
Melissa said she hopes sharing her daughters’ stories might help other families affected by SUDC.
She explained that Molly was monitored in hospital before she died. This gave doctors insight the family never had when Abigail became ill. Molly’s hospitalisation allowed her condition to be closely observed, something that wasn’t possible in Abigail’s case.
Although paramedics and medical staff acted quickly, doctors explained that certain cardiac events in young children can be fatal even with immediate care. Melissa added that she hopes further genetic testing will provide answers for their family and help other parents identify possible inherited risks earlier.
“We’ve been told that even a minor illness could potentially trigger a sudden cardiac event,” she explained. “We were in the best possible place, with everything aligned for the best conditions and the best outcome. Her little body fought so hard. But we’ve been told that this type of cardiac event is, in most cases, not survivable.”
“I hope we will get more answers soon and will be doing more genetic investigation for our family now we have possibly a clearer avenue to explore,” she concluded. “We are grateful for every single one of you.”
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