The mother of a two-year-old girl who died after falling into a pond on Christmas Day has paid tribute to her ‘magic’ daughter.
Tamara Wallace also thanked all those who had supported her family after the tragic death of daughter Isobel – including hundreds of people who have contributed to an online fundraiser to create a memorial fairy garden – saying they have been ‘suffocated with love’.
Writing on Facebook, Ms Wallace said she wants ‘people to remember Isobel for the magic girl she was, and the adventure and fire she had in her soul, and how much light she brought, not for her sad passing’.
‘Everyone who knows Isobel and us knows how gifted she was and that she lived more in her two years than some children did in a life time.’
She added: ‘The generosity has been outstanding, we are very much keeping each other close and being suffocated with love, which is absolutely what we need.’
Isabel’s heartbroken family said the tragedy happened when she disappeared from view having been playing happily with toys at the family home in Doncaster, South Yorkshire.
A GoFundMe appeal set up by Isobel’s aunt Abigail Maxwell had raised more than £31,000 by this afternoon, with more than 800 people donating.
Ms Maxwell said in a post on the fundraising site that the ‘tragic accident’ and ‘living nightmare’ happened during a family gathering.
Isobel Wallace, aged two, described as ‘magic’ and ‘the happiest, smiliest, most adventurous and curious little girl’ by her distraught family
Tamara Wallace and partner Aaron pictured with their daughter Isobel
The little girl’s aunt called her ‘the happiest, smiliest, most adventurous and curious little girl’ and ‘our darling angel girl’ who ‘lit up the lives of everyone’.
Ms Maxwell explained how Isobel had been playing with her daughter in the house and disappeared for ‘a moment’, falling in the pond, which had a temporary fence around it.
She said: ‘We couldn’t find her for a moment and, in that moment, she’s gone in the garden and fell in the pond.’
Ms Maxwell said the pond ‘was not there through choice’ but had been left by the previous occupiers while Ms Wallace and her partner were renovating what would be their ‘forever home’.
She said: ‘As you can imagine, this is the worst possible thing that could ever happen to parents, to lose their baby.
‘She was so happy, so loved, and they were the best parents who gave her the most wonderful life.’
Ms Maxwell also revealed Isobel has a baby brother and her mother is 25 weeks pregnant.
She said she was raising the money partly because ‘Tamara and (her partner) Aaron would love to create a memorial fairy garden for Isobel’, adding: ‘She deserves a special place where her magical personality can be remembered and her spirit live on.’
She said that she also wanted to help with funeral costs and ‘all the other stresses’ associated with the tragic situation.
Visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/isobels-memorial-fairy-garden to contribute to the family’s appeal.
