On Sunday, April 6th, 2025, I will be running the London Landmarks Half Marathon for the UK Sepsis Trust.

On October 27th, 2021, I tragically lost my beautiful husband, Matt, to sepsis. He was stolen from those who loved him without warning, without time to say goodbye, and left us far too soon. Matt had his whole life ahead of him. We had been married only 3 months and were but a few months away from meeting our beautiful daughter, Lottie. His next chapter had barely begun.

Matt died from a cardiac arrest which was secondary to septic shock. Sepsis is a life-threatening condition and a medical emergency. It takes hold when the body goes into overdrive to fight an infection. As a result, in its desperate bid to protect us, the immune system instead begins to attack our organs and tissues. Terrifyingly, this can lead to multiple organ failure and death. Even with early diagnosis and sophisticated treatment, some people will not survive. Tragically this was the case for Matt.

The initial flu-like symptoms began to develop the day before we flew from London to Dubai for our honeymoon. After four days spent battling high temperatures, chills, and feeling lethargic, Matt was treated for a “general infection” by a doctor who attended our hotel room. Despite this, his symptoms became progressively worse the following morning. We went to the local hospital for a second opinion. On arrival, Matt was still very much coherent and conversing with the staff. However, the hospital doctors quickly identified that Matt’s body was in septic shock. By this time, his blood pressure was severely low, and he presented as a medical emergency. The doctors made every attempt to treat and save Matt, but sepsis progressed too rapidly, and his body did not respond to the treatment. To the utter shock and devastation of all those treating him, Matt died within 3 hours of arrival. He was entirely unaware of how ill he was, as were we all. That is the cruel nature of sepsis. Within only a few hours the human body can spiral into a critical condition, and this can lead to sudden death.

Sepsis can be incredibly difficult to identify; both for the individual suffering, the loved ones who know them so well, and even for health professionals. There is no single sign or diagnostic test. Symptoms can be wide ranging and present differently for all. Matt was fit and healthy, and his body was desperately fighting and compromising up until the last minute. We will probably never know what infection Matt had. Sepsis can be caused by most infections, including both bacterial and viral infections. Losing someone so fit and healthy to sepsis is earth shattering; nothing can prepare you for how sudden, rapid, and truly life shattering it is.

I want to raise awareness to prevent other people dying from sepsis, and to support the people left behind suffering total devastation, the heartbreak, the endless, overwhelming grief. In the UK alone 245,000 people develop sepsis every year, and as many as 48,000 die. That’s more than bowel, breast and prostate cancer combined. Sepsis is indiscriminate- it can affect anyone at any time. 80 percent of sepsis cases arise outside of the hospital environment, which is why it is so critically important that people know the warning signs.

In adults signs can be:

-slurred speech or confusion

-extreme shaking or muscle pain

-passing no urine in a day

-severe breathlessness

-mottled or pale skin

If you experience any one of these symptoms in the context of an infection, you should go straight to A&E.

In children under 5 symptoms can be:

-breathing very fast

-having a fit or convulsion

-mottled skin, blush or pale

-a rash that does not fade when you press it

-being very lethargic

-feeling abnormally cold to touch, or any combination of the above

If your child has any one of these symptoms in the context of an infection, they should be urgently taken to A&E.

By identifying the signs and asking the question ‘could this be sepsis?’, lives can be saved.

Together Matt and I shared 11 wonderful years of unconditional love and happy memories, but we had envisaged decades longer. He was besotted with our beautiful dog Barney, and so in love already with our unborn baby girl, whom we had already named together before he died. Our precious Charlotte (Lottie) was born on February 9th 2022. Matt would have been the most doting and incredible dad, and it is perhaps the cruellest tragedy of all that the role he was born to play was taken from him before it had even begun. I will never witness him bloom and thrive as a father, Lottie will never feel his embrace, nor his unwavering devotion to her.

Loving Matt changed my life, so it comes as no surprise to me that losing him has done the same. The echo of his absence is constant and relentless. I cling tightly to our precious memories, remembering the light and warmth he radiated throughout his life both into my world, and the worlds of so many others. I will continue to live my life for him. Every day I share his stories and talk about him to honour his memory and commemorate the way he lived. Lottie will know everything about her incredible dad, and I will continue to raise our daughter for both of us. I will show her the beauty in the world and make new magical memories each day. We will take Matt in our hearts wherever we go.

I have just started my training for my first-ever half marathon, and any donations to the UK Sepsis Trust would be so welcomed. Money raised will support this small charity to join the fight against sepsis, raising awareness and funds to continue the mission of ending preventable sepsis deaths. Also helping the team of Sepsis support nurses who provide confidential support and information to those tragically bereaved by sepsis, or navigating the complexities of life after experiencing sepsis. I am very grateful for their incredible support in the early stages of my grief.