01 September 2010
London, UK
The UK siblings suffer from Long QT Syndrome, an incurable disease that strikes one in every 10,000 people; their mother, from whom they inherited the illness, died at 23
Courtney, Melissa and Chloe have refused to let their condition get them down Chloe, Courtney and Melissa McAllister, aged 13, 12, and eight, suffer from Long QT Syndrome, a disease that can be hereditary, and affects about one in every 10,000 people.
The three girls were diagnosed with the disease – which causes irregular heartbeats and can lead to sudden death – after Courtney had a seizure at the age of five.
Doctors at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Glasgow had at first thought it was epilepsy but after an ECG test was conducted on her heart, it showed she had Long QT Syndrome.
Tests were carried out on Chloe and Melissa and both were also found to have the illness, which doctors believe they inherited from their mother Sharon, who died at the age of 23 in February 2002 when Melissa was just five weeks old.
"It was very distressing when they were all diagnosed. Melissa found it hard to deal with, especially when the doctors told us that is what had caused their mother to die. The attacks can happen even when they are sleeping so I’m constantly getting up in the night to check on them," their stay-athome father Stephen told Daily Mail.
Courtney had a heart monitor fitted in April this year as she is in a more serious phase of the condition, and the other two may also have to be fitted with one. The girls are on medication and have to be careful not to over-exert themselves.
Stephen said, "I am so proud of all three of my daughters. They don’t let the illness get them down." AGENCIES
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