That camping trip your family still talks about? Science says it’s worth more than any toy under the tree.
Melissa Mae Carlton is mourning the loss of her second daughter over the past 20 months.
On Dec. 26, Carlton — a social media influencer and mom of four — took to Instagram to share a “devastating” update regarding her youngest daughter Molly, whom she shares with her husband Tom.
“On Christmas morning, our sweet Molly girl, and her big sister Abi were reunited,” she wrote in the post.
“This is the only thing giving me even a small sense of comfort. Molly missed her sister so deeply. She would often ask me, “Mummy, when is Jesus coming back so Abi can come down?” she added.
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Carlton and her husband share four kids together — Lily, born in 2013, Abigail, born in 2015, Harry, born in 2017, and Molly — according to People.
Molly’s death comes more than one year after her older sister Abigail died of sepsis at age 9.
“We are devastated. In disbelief. Confused and in shock. We are exhausted and shaken after a day filled with trauma and heartbreak,” Carlton wrote in her Dec. 26 update.
“I feel numb. I cannot yet accept that this is real. I am not ready for this pain,” she added.
She went on to thank her followers for all the prayers they sent her way and asked that those prayers don’t stop as “there will be so much to do and to organize” in the coming days and weeks.
“I am scared of what life looks like now for us. I am heartbroken for our children,” Carlton wrote.
“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,” she recalled.
“Through sobs, he said, ‘She got what she wanted,’” she continued.
Melissa Mae Carlton says Molly likely had a genetic heart condition
On Dec. 27, Carlton returned to Instagram with a “medical update” regarding Molly.
At the time, Carlton was still searching for answers as to what happened to her daughter, but said doctors believe Molly had a genetic heart condition — similar to what they suspected with her daughter Abi.
“I’m sharing this because I believe it could be critical information for families who have experienced SUDC (sudden unexpected death in children),” she wrote.
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According to the SUDC Foundation, SUDC is a “category of death for a child 12 months of age or older that remains unexplained after a thorough case investigation,” which includes an autopsy.
Approximately 500 children in the U.S. were affected by sudden unexplained death in 2023, per the SUDC Foundation.
“Her little body fought so hard,” Carlton said of her daughter Molly. “But we’ve been told that this type of cardiac event is, in most cases, not survivable.”
On April 14, 2024, Carlton took to Instagram to share that her daughter Abigail had “unexpectedly passed over the other side.”
It was later revealed that Melissa Mae Carlton’s daughter died of sepsis. She was 9 years old.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, “sepsis occurs when your immune system has a dangerous reaction to an infection,” which causes “extensive inflammation throughout your body.”
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More than 1.7 million people in the United States receive a diagnosis of sepsis each year, per the Clinic.
