Coleen Rooney opens up about her own heartbreaking loss as she meets with Ukrainian child refugees
Coleen Rooney has opened up about her own heartbreaking loss as she met with Ukrainian child victims in Poland.
The WAG, 39, took an emotional trip to a UNICEF Educational Rehabilitation School as she met children who have lost their homes during the Ukraine war.
Coleen lost her own sister Rosie who died back in 2013 at age 14 after a lifelong battle with the rare brain disorder Rett syndrome.
And the star opened up about her adopted sister's passing as she met with disabled refugee children, including fitness coach Kateryna and her seven-year-old son, Murat, who has learning difficulties.
Speaking to The Mirror Coleen said: 'One of the schools was for children with disabilities. And I grew up in that environment, my sister went to a school like that.
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'It was just like where they were, with music therapy, physiotherapy and all those things for the sensors. I felt so comfortable, it wasn't a shock.'
Coleen also visited a Spilno Hub, in Krakow, which supports families who've fled the war and met Yuliia, her sister Olisia and Yuliia's daughter Anastasiia, four.
Admitting that the experience had 'opened her eyes' to the reality of war, she added: 'You think it is over, it's not. These people have been hit with trauma and it's hard for them to move on.'
Coleen's family took Rosie in as a foster child when she was two and while they previously just provided respite care, the teen tragically passed away after being brought home to spend her final moments with her family.
During her time on I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here last November, Coleen broke down in tears as she opened up about the loss of her little sister.
Coleen confided in Dean McCullough and Oti Mabuse as she confessed: 'Even when Rosie died, I kept it together for me mum and dad.'
She continued: 'She was 14 when she died, she'd be 26 now. It's hard to lose a child, I've always said that… so we're lucky to have what we've got.'
The media personality has always been very open about her younger sister and last year spoke about how her family always knew 'Rosie was different'.
Coleen made the comment in her Wagatha Christie Disney+ documentary where she explained: 'When Rosie came along she was a massive part of our lives. She was the sister that I never thought I was going to have.'
Speaking to her mother and her father Tony, she continued: 'I used to do her hair and used to love picking clothes with me mum for her. She brought that little bit extra to the house. We fell in love with her.'
Yet the family soon realised that Rosie was struggling with her development, and after a series of hospital tests she was diagnosed with Rett syndrome.
Coleen explained: 'Rosie, she struggled. She couldn't walk and talk and would be in pain and sick but she still put a smile on her face.
'Sometimes she used to force a laugh out. I think it was just to make my mum and dad happy.
'Gradually her brain wasn't functioning so she couldn't eat anymore, couldn't talk, move.'
Rosie needed 24-hour care and after suffering from 'lots of complications' and being admitted to intensive care, Colette revealed the family decided to bring her home to spend her final days surrounded by her loved ones.
'We had a sleepover, one last sleepover, all of us together,' she explained. 'And then we had a big party to celebrate her life.'
Breaking down in tears, Coleen said: 'To lose a child is the worst thing that could ever happen to anyone but when you look back now she gave us so many good years of happiness and love.'
WHAT IS RETT SYNDROME? THE NEUROLOGICAL DISORDER THAT LEAVES KIDS UNABLE TO SPEAK, EAT, WALK, TALK AND BREATHE
One child in 12,000 is born with Rett Syndrome, yet few people have heard of it.
The genetic disorder affects almost exclusively females, causing them to regress neurologically and physically.
The progression of the disease can be roughly divided into four stages.
During the first stage, from about the age of six to 18 months, a baby slows in development, loses interest in play, stops making eye contact, starts walking awkwardly and makes repetitive hand movements.
The second stage, known as 'rapid destruction', begins between the ages of one and four.
The child finds it increasingly difficult to communicate and learn and there is often a deterioration in other brain functions.
Symptoms include an inability to control the hands, sudden distress teamed with screaming, unsteadiness, breathing problems, difficulty sleeping, slow head growth and digestive problems.
The third stage, the 'plateau', begins between age three and ten.
Limbs become floppy, epilepsy may develop and there may be weight loss and teeth-grinding.
However, many parents say children are less distressed and show more interest in their surroundings.
The final stage can last for decades. Usually severe bending of the spine – scoliosis – develops, as well as losing the ability to walk.
Almost all cases are caused by a mutation in the MECP2 gene which prevents nerve cells in the brain from working properly.
Currently there is no cure and only the symptoms are treated.
Around three quarters of sufferers will live into their 50s, according to Rett UK. The National Institute of Health says it's not possible to make reliable estimates about life expectancy beyond the age of 40.
According to Rettsyndrome.org, data from the Natural History Study have determined that a girl with Rett has a 100 per cent chance of reaching age 10, greater than 75 per cent chance of reaching age 30, and a greater than 50 per cent chance of reaching age 50.
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