Our beautiful little girl, Isla Rose Sheraton-Toomey, unexpectedly passed away on Friday 8th September 2023 at 13 months and 4 days old. With absolutely no warning, Isla's heart stopped in her cot shortly after being put to bed. Our neighbours, paramedics, doctors and an amazing emergency response team at Southend Hospital worked to bring her back to life for 2 and a half hours but eventually there was nothing else that could be done. Her passing has broken us all as a family and we now know what heartbreak truly feels like; it’s unbearable.

We started fundraising on 23rd September 2023 - initially as an outlet for close friends and family to donate to instead of sending flowers for Isla's celebration of life. What happened next was incredible, and Isla's page was flooded with messages of love, support, strength and generosity from people all around the world. To say we're overwhelmed would be an understatement - thousands of pounds of people's money donated, all in our little girls name. We still can't believe it.

It lit a fire in us both - one that took us by suprise as we didn't think we'd be able to care about anything again. We decided to raise as much money and help as many people as we possibly can.

In November 2023 it was confirmed that Isla died because of an extremely rare heart condition - Histiocytoid Cardiomyopathy. There is very little known about the condition and thought to be approx. only 150 known cases to date globally. We were lucky enough to meet a Doctor/Professor at GOSH who had heard of it and he shared the very limited known facts with us. The support we’ve recieved from GOSH since the diagnosis has been incredible but seeing children and babies waiting for their appointments at GOSH is heartbreaking and we decided to help as much as we can.

We wanted to set up a charity in Isla’s name so we can continue to raise money and awareness for many years to come and in May 2024 The For Isla Foundation was set up. We work with world class cardio consultants at GOSH and through the ”Isla’s Ray of Sunshine” programme, we provide one off gifts to children and babies with ultra rare pediatric cardiomyopathies. We hope to bring a little light to these children and their families in what can be a very dark time.

It feels as though life has been so unfairly cruel to us, but the generosity, kindness and love that has been wrapped around us is something we never, ever expected and it will stay with us forever.

Thank you,

Isla’s Mum and Dad - Natalie and Carl x