George Michael’s sister died in a diabetic coma on third anniversary of the pop star’s tragic death
GEORGE Michael's sister died in a diabetic coma on the third anniversary of the pop star's tragic death.
Melanie Panayiotou was found at her £6.2million home in Hampstead, north west London last year on December 29 – exactly three years after her brother died.
At the time, it was understood she had suffered a short illness before she passed away in hospital.
It has now emerged the hairdresser died from diabetic ketoacidosis, which is caused by a lack of insulin and high blood sugar, with diabetes given as an underlying cause of death, according to the .
Music icon George died aged 53, of natural causes at home in Goring-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, on December 25 2016.
An inquest later revealed he had died from heart failure and liver disease.
WHAT IS DIABETIC KETOACIDOSIS?
DKA happens if the body starts to run out of insulin - causing a build-up of harmful substances called ketones in the body.
Symptoms of the condition include:
- needing to pee more than usual
- feeling very thirsty
- being sick
- tummy pain
- breath that smells fruity (like pear drop sweets or nail varnish)
- deep or fast breathing
- feeling very tired or sleepy
- confusion
- passing out
It's an incredibly serious condition so if you are diabetic and have any of these symptoms, you need to get to a hospital immediately.
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The troubled star left most of his £97.6million estate to Melanie and Yioda.
But George was particularly close to Melanie, who travelled the world with him at the height of his fame.
She hosted his funeral at his Grade II-listed London home in Highgate, and ensured he was laid to rest next to their mum Lesley, who died in 1997.
Melanie was buried next to George in and their mother Leslie in Highgate Cemetry.
Her appearances in public became fewer and fewer after George died, as she struggled with his death at the age of 53 and its aftermath.
Family sources said they believed she had "died from a broken heart."
“She had been living as a recluse and only really went out to the hairdressers and post office and occasionally with her older sister Yioda.
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“She stayed indoors, had shopping delivered and rarely left the house,” the source said.
Melanie was also upset by her family’s legal battles with George’s boyfriend Fadi Fawaz, 46, who had to be forced to leave one of the late singer’s homes after smashing it up.
Melanie had also hit out at her brother’s friend Elton John just weeks before she died for claiming he was “uncomfortable” with being gay.