She was like any other child,” said Cartwright. Kennedy News/Phoebe Louise SmithĪshanti’s bereaved family and friends have since paid tribute to the deceased youngster. Ashanti died of heart failure just three months after her 18th birthday.
The plucky gal officially died of heart failure and natural causes, according to Kennedy News. You’ve got to let me go,” recalled a distraught Phoebe. ”Īshanti died with her mother, father Shaine Wickens, 33, and Cartwright at her side, with her last words being, “Mum, I love you. Shaine brought her home because she said she wanted her mother. “It was very upsetting,” recounted family friend Kayleigh Cartwright, 25, who was with the ailing girl at the time. But shortly thereafter, Ashanti’s health began to deteriorate. The ill-fated day started out “absolutely fine,” with the plucky teen walking around the park and “having KFC,” according to her mom. Several months later, the thunderbolt struck. Ashanti’s mother said the progeria syndrome never affected her spirit. Nonetheless, her proud daughter refused to ride in a car, instead opting to be carried or to even walk on her busted hip. “She had a broken hip, and it had to be set back in three times, then eventually it came out again,” explained Phoebe. Unfortunately, while the progeria syndrome didn’t affect her will, it did impact “her mobility and she had heart disease” and arthritis, according to her devastated parent. However, whenever one of the gals offered to get Ashanti a drink, “She’d say, ‘I’ll get it - what are you treating me different for?’ ” said Phoebe, who added, “She was very strong.” We all took her out to the pubs, me and all the girls.” Ashanti Smith with her mom, Phoebe Louise Smith, 36 her dad, Shaine Wickens, 33 her sister, Brandi-Louise, now 15 and her baby brother, Shaine. “There are photos of her first getting ID’d. “‘She got tipsy and she loved it,” fawned Phoebe of her daughter’s first girls’ night out. Just months before her death, the West Sussex resident had been celebrating her 18th birthday by sipping her favorite cocktail, Sex on the Beach, at a bar with her mom and friends, Kennedy News reported. “It didn’t affect her heart, her willpower or the way she felt about herself - she felt beautiful every day,” said the proud mother. Ashanti Smith with her mom, Phoebe Louise Smith. Kennedy News and Mediaĭespite having the body of a 144-year-old, Phoebe said her baby girl refused to let her ailment break her “loud and beautiful” spirit while she was alive. Ashanti Smith tragically died at 18 from progeria syndrome, a premature aging condition that left her with the body of a 144-year-old. The aberration also causes severe heart problems, mobility issues and other complications associated with aging, according to the Mayo Clinic. The 36-year-old’s daughter, Ashanti Smith, died Saturday from complications stemming from Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome, a rare congenital condition that causes the sufferer to age eight years for every year of their life. She touched their hearts so much with her willpower,” Phoebe Louise Smith told Kennedy News of her loss. “Everyone loved and adored that little girl. Woman reveals she nearly lost a leg after spin classīaby born with rare tail gets his ‘ball and chain’ removedīroken heart diagnoses on the rise in the US: studyĪ UK mom is mourning the loss of her “strong-willed” daughter, who passed away at age 18 from a rare “Benjamin Button” disease that left her with the body of someone eight times her age. Teen’s rare 1-in-600 million condition prevents him from storing fat