9-1-1: Nashville actor Isabelle Tate’s cause of death has been confirmed as Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a neurological disorder.
Tate passed away October 19 at the age of 23, McCray Agency said in a statement Thursday. In a follow-up Instagram post, the agency shared that Tate had been living with a rare form of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, and in lieu of flowers, the family is asking for donations to be made toward the Charcot-Marie-Tooth Association, which supports the development of new treatments for CMT and efforts to find a cure.
CMT is an incurable, hereditary disease that causes nerve damage, mainly in the nerves of the arms and legs, called the peripheral nerves, per the Mayo Clinic. It is also called hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy, and is considered one of the most common types of inherited nerve diseases, according to Cedars Sinai.
Over time, the disease causes muscles to shrink and weaken, oftentimes leading to trouble walking and loss of feeling in the legs and feet. Other symptoms can include high foot arches, hammertoes, inability to run, clumsiness and difficulties lifting the foot at the ankle.
It was named after three doctors who described it in 1886: Jean Martin Charcot and Pierre Marie in Paris, and Howard Henry Tooth in Cambridge, England, according to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.
While CMT is not typically fatal, and most people with it live to a normal age and remain active, in rare cases, it may affect the muscles you need to breathe, Cedars Sinai says.
In her final Instagram post shared in 2022, Tate had opened up about her disease, revealing that it had “really progressed.”
“When I was 13, I got diagnosed with a progressive neuromuscular disease that weakens leg muscles over time,” she wrote. “Over the years, I was going on with my life and would notice little things get more difficult for me, but not so much where it stood out to me.
She continued: “Recently, it’s really progressed, and I’ve come to terms that if I want to live my life to the fullest, I need to use a wheelchair at times. This has been a difficult journey for me because having to accept help and surrender to the progression of this condition has been hard.”
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The rising actor’s unexpected death came days after the premiere of the spinoff of the hit ABC series 9-1-1 — her first on-screen role. She had appeared in the show’s pilot episode as Julie, an attendee at a bachelor party, where an accident occurs.
Tate is survived by her parents, stepfather, and sister, according to her obituary. The Tennessee native graduated from Middle Tennessee State University in May with an undergraduate degree in business.
“Isabelle loved volunteering her time to all things, particularly animals – her idea of a fun outing was visiting an animal shelter and doling out lots of love,” the obituary added.
“Isabelle was full of fire, a fighter, never once making excuses for the fact that she might have a disability relative to others. She was also quite musically inclined, often spending hours writing and recording songs with friends and even publishing a few. What she loved the most though was spending time with family and friends, always the life of the party. Her sister was her best friend and her mom was her shining beacon of light.”
