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Former Miss Teen Universe Lotte van der Zee has died. She was just 19 years old.
Lotte, a Dutch model who won the Miss Teenage Universe title back in 2017, was on a ski trip with her family in Westendorf, Austria, when she went into cardiac arrest two weeks ago, reports Dutch newspaper, De Limburger .
Lotte was reportedly kept in an artificial coma until Wednesday evening, when she died. Lotte's parents, Bert van der Zee & Eugeniek van het Hul, announced their daughter's death on her Instagram page.
"Our pearl, all of us died on Wednesday evening, March 6 at 10:47 p.m. It is super unreal that our dear Lotte is no longer there. Our hearts are broken," her parents wrote. "Once again we want to thank you for all the support and heart-warming messages."
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View this post on Instagram Onze parel, ons alles is op woensdagavond 6 maart om 22:47 overleden. Het is super onwerkelijk dat onze lieve Lotte er niet meer is. Onze harten zijn gebroken Nogmaals willen we jullie allemaal bedanken voor alle steun en hartverwarmende berichten. --------------------------- Our pearl, our everything passed away on Wednesday evening March 6th at 22:47. It is incredibly surreal that our dearly beloved Lotte is not around us anymore. Our hearts are truly broken We would like to thank you all again for all the support and heartwarming messages. A post shared by LOTTE VAN DER ZEE (@lotte_zee) on Mar 7, 2019 at 2:09am PST
In another post on Lotte's Instagram, her parents described the events leading up to Lotte's cardiac arrest in more detail: "Lotte started to feel unwell throughout the course of the afternoon. A feeling that swiftly escalated in sudden cardiac arrest." Lotte's mother was with her when she went into cardiac arrest, and attempted to rescusitate her herself, reports De Limburger.
View this post on Instagram Lieve vrienden, Met het grootst mogelijke verdriet willen wij jullie hierbij informeren over de reden achter Lottes publiekelijke afwezigheid de afgelopen dagen. Twee dagen geleden, tijdens onze vakantie in Westendorf - Oostenrijk, begon Lotte zich in de loop van de middag onwel te voelen. Een gevoel dat snel escaleerde in een plotselinge hartstilstand. Ze is naar het dichtstbijzijnde ziekenhuis gebracht waar ze in coma ligt en momenteel onder intensieve supervisie van de artsen in slaap wordt gehouden, zodat zij haar gezondheid kunnen monitoren. Bij voorbaat dank voor de liefdevolle woorden over onze dochter. We zijn dankbaar voor de steun van iedereen en danken jullie uit de grond van ons hart voor jullie liefde en positiviteit in deze tijden waarin zij dit het meeste nodig heeft. We waarderen het respect voor onze privacy in deze moeilijke tijd. Neem bij vragen alsjeblieft contact op met het management van Lotte. Liefs, Haar ouders - Bert van der Zee & Eugeniek van het Hul -------------------------- Dear friends, It is with the deepest sadness that we have to inform you about the reason behind Lottes public absence the past couple of days. Two days ago, during our holiday in Westendorf - Austria, Lotte started to feel unwell throughout the course of the afternoon. A feeling that swiftly escalated in sudden cardiac arrest. She was helped to the nearest hospital where she got into a coma and is since then kept a sleep under intensive supervision of the doctors in order to monitor her health. Thank you in advance for the loving words about our daughter. We are grateful for everyone's support and sincerely thank you for your love and positivity in these times when she needs it most. We are grateful for the privacy during this difficult time. Our wish is that it continues that way. If you have any questions, please contact Lottes management. With love, Her parents Bert van der Zee & Eugeniek van het Hul A post shared by LOTTE VAN DER ZEE (@lotte_zee) on Feb 22, 2019 at 10:00am PST
Lotte's parents went on to say that Lotte was then taken to the nearest hospital where she was put into an artificial coma, where doctors could "monitor her health." Days later, Lotte was transferred to an academic hospital in Munich for further monitoring, according to another Instagram post.
View this post on Instagram Lieve allemaal, Als je verdriet met elkaar deelt kan je verdrietig en gelukkig tegelijk zijn. Dit is iets dat jullie ons de afgelopen week hebben laten voelen. Daarom willen we jullie ontzettend bedanken voor alle mooie berichten en voor jullie oprechte en liefdevolle steun. Het is prachtig om te zien hoeveel mensen intens met Lotte en ons meeleven. Hoewel de machteloosheid ons in eerste instantie liet denken dat we er alleen voor stonden hebben we uit alle steunbetuigingen juist kracht weten te putten en we zijn ervan overtuigd dat Lotte dit ook zo voelt. Wij ervaren jullie steun als werkelijk hartverwarmend. Lottes situatie is helaas nog onveranderd. Wel is ze inmiddels overgebracht naar een universitair ziekenhuis in Mnchen, waar zij nog steeds in kritieke toestand onder intense supervisie van artsen in slaap wordt gehouden. We wilden dit graag persoonlijk met jullie delen en waarderen het respect voor onze privacy gedurende deze moeilijke tijd nog steeds enorm. Neem bij vragen alsjeblieft contact op met het management van Lotte. Liefs, Haar ouders Bert van der Zee & Eugeniek van der Zee van het Hul Dear all, "If you share grief with each other you can be sad and happy at the same time." This is something that you have made us experience this past week. That is why we want to thank you for all the beautiful messages and for your sincere and loving support. It is wonderful to see how many people are intensely involved with Lotte and with us. Even though the feeling of powerlessness made us think that we were in this alone at first we were able to draw a massive amount of strength from all your loving support. We are convinced that Lotte feels this too. Lotte's situation is unfortunately still unchanged. However, she has now been transferred to an academic hospital in Munich, where she is still kept a sleep under intensive supervision of the doctors in order to monitor her health. We wanted to share this with you personally and appreciate the respect for our privacy during this difficult time. If you have any more questions, please contact Lotte's management. Love, Her parents - Bert van der Zee & Eugeniek van der Zee van het Hul A post shared by LOTTE VAN DER ZEE (@lotte_zee) on Mar 1, 2019 at 10:11am PST
De Limburger reports that Lotte's mother, Eugeniek, said that they made the decision to take her out of her artificial coma when her condition began to deteriorate.
"It started with her kidneys. She was then put on kidney dialysis, which kept her alive. But when it became clear on Wednesday that it would not be okay, she was taken off the machine," she said. "Lotte has had to endure a lot over the past few days. We did not want any further suffering. "
It's currently unknown what exactly caused Lotte's cardiac arrest, nor is it clear when her parents will get to come home with Lotte, but according to them, "we would like to be as soon as possible."