Influencer Melissa Mae Carlton announced Friday that the unthinkable had happened: Her young daughter, Molly, died on Christmas day, less than two years after her older sister Abigail died at age nine in 2024. "On Christmas morning, our sweet Molly girl, and her big sister Abi were reunited," Carlton wrote in the post cited by TMZ. Molly's age was not given. Carlton did not initially give details of what happened, only writing that the day was filled with "trauma and heartbreak" and that the family, which includes two other children, was left "confused and in shock." But in a follow-up post Saturday, Carlton, who has written extensively about child loss and grief since Abigail's death, said doctors believe Molly may have had a genetic heart condition—and that the same condition may also have played a role in Abi's sudden death from sepsis in April 2024, Page Six reports.
"This understanding came because Molly was able to be monitored in the hospital" before her death, while Abi's death was so sudden that she was not, Carlton wrote. On what would have been Abigail's 10th birthday, Carlton had shared more details of her death, Newsweek reported at the time—the little girl was happy and playing the night prior, then died within hours of experiencing stomach pain and vomiting early the next morning. "I've never felt satisfied with the answers we were given for [Abi]," Carlton continued in her Saturday post. "But this type of condition, we've been told that even a minor illness could potentially trigger a sudden cardiac event." She cautioned that the family has not received an official diagnosis, but noted that she believes the information could be critical for other families who have experienced Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood (SUDC). She said their family will be doing more genetic investigation.
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