Wayne Rooney and his wife Coleen are remembering Coleen's dear sister Rosie. The couple both took to Instagram to share photos of the late schoolgirl, who would have celebrated her 19th birthday on Thursday. Coleen posted a photo of her younger sister in a wheelchair and captioned it: "Happy Birthday to our Angel Rosie."
Wayne also paid tribute to his late sister-in-law, sharing a heartbreaking image of the pair hugging. "Miss this face every day. Happy Birthday Rosie," the footballer wrote.
Rosie sadly passed away in January 2013, a few weeks shy of her 15th birthday. The teenager died after a lifelong battle with Rett syndrome, a rare genetic disorder. She passed away at her home in Liverpool in the early hours of the morning, surrounded by her relatives. She had received treatment at Liverpool's Alder Hey Hospital and Claire House Children's Hospice in Wirral, Merseyside.
Coleen's adopted sister Rosie died aged 14
At the time, Wayne and Coleen released a statement on behalf of their family. "Throughout her life, she brought so much love and happiness to all our family and everyone who knew and met her. She was such a strong little girl and an inspiration to us all," it read. "We shall cherish forever the memories we have shared and the love she showed us each and every day of her life. As a family we are heartbroken, but we are blessed to have had her in our lives."
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Wayne paid a heartbreaking tribute to his sister-in-law
Later Coleen, 30, took to Twitter to say she was "absolutely heartbroken". The mum-of-three tweeted: "Thank you so much for all your lovely messages and kind words. We are absolutely heartbroken to have lost our angel Rosie. So glad we ended our holiday short, due to her deteriorating & we was able to spend the last few days together with her and our family! Sleep tight Rosie Mc x. We love you more than words can say x."
Rosie was adopted by Coleen's parents Tony and Colette McLoughlin. She was the youngest of the children, with Coleen being the eldest followed by her brothers Joe and Anthony.