Like every night, David Hutton put his 6-year-old daughter Isla to bed. But that night, the British father noticed there was a problem. “She got into bed but didn’t want to settle down. I knew something was wrong,” he told the Manchester Evening News. Shortly after, the child was rushed to hospital. She unfortunately died of a heart attack on October 8, 2022: “I was by her side in the hospital the whole time. Time seemed to fly by but it was like slow motion. I wouldn’t have wanted her to suffers. She was the happiest little girl you ever met.”
When she was born, Isla was diagnosed with Long QT Syndrome, an abnormality in the electrical system of the heart. This condition, which affects one in 2,000 people, can cause rapid and chaotic heartbeats. The girl’s heart therefore took longer to recharge between each contraction, so much so that she was in danger of fainting at any moment. The doctors had fitted him with a pacemaker. At the time, David who lives in Ainsworth, a village in Bury in Greater Manchester, had quit his job as a primary school teacher to care for his child full time.
He honors the memory of his daughter
During her short life, Isla had become the mascot of Thryv Therapeutics, a pharmaceutical laboratory. With his help, the company has generated more than $15 million for drug research in the United States. “Although bittersweet, it is a huge comfort to me to know that Isla’s story has inspired a potential cure for long QT syndrome and that it also helps in the fight against cancer,” said pointed out David. To pay tribute to his daughter, the dad decided to travel 50 kilometers to raise funds for the hospital which treated her throughout her life. At the time of writing these lines, 4,200 pounds (4,744 euros) have been collected.
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