A grieving husband broke down in tears as he relived his wife’s ‘horrendous’ d3ath after contracting rabies from a dog scratch while on holiday in Morocco.
Yvonne Ford, 59, from Barnsley, South Yorkshire, was scratched by a stray puppy who had been lying under her sunbed back in February – but thought nothing of it at the time.
Around four months later, the grandmother began suffering from an ‘unbearable’ headache and was admitted to Barnsley Hospital.
Within days, she was hallucinating, unable to walk, talk, sleep or swallow, and developed a fear of water – all distinguishable symptoms of rabies.
Yvonne was transferred to Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield where she was put into a coma and eventually diagnosed with the virus and sadly passed away.
Rabies is uncommon in the UK, having been almost completely eradicated, but is still easily contactable in other parts of the world, such as Morocco, Asia, Africa and north Africa. It is often caught from a bite or scratch of an infected animal and is almost always fatal once symptoms appear.
Many people are unaware that rabies can lay dormant, showing no symptoms, for a period time which can span a few months up to two whole years. This is known as the incubation period.
Yvonne’s husband Ron and her two children Robyn and Adam appeared on the ITV’s This Morning today to tell their devastating story and raise awareness around the disease.
+14
View gallery
A This Morning guest broke down in tears as he recalled the weeks before losing his wife to rabies after she was scratched by a puppy on holiday in Morocco (pictured)
+14
View gallery
Yvonne Ford (pictured) passed away aged 59 on June 11 after she was scratched by a stray dog lying under her sunbed back in February
+14
View gallery
The grandmother-of-four started suffering from a ‘horrendous’ headache and was admitted to Barnsley Hospital
+14
View gallery
Her daughter Robyn Thomson, 32, (left) has spoken of how the d3athly disease that stole her mother
+14
View gallery
Yvonne pictured on holiday with her husband Ron, daughter Robyn and grandchildren
Recounting the trip, Mr Ford said: ‘We went to Morocco for a winter break. Two days before we came home, we were on the beach on the hotel, lots of dogs were running about everywhere.
‘There was a puppy underneath her sunbed, she put her leg down and it startled the dog, it scratched her.’
But the scratch didn’t even leave a mark, let alone break skin, so the ‘unaware’ couple decided it wasn’t worth going to have it checked out by a doctor.
‘That was the second to last day of the holiday, no illness. No nothing. Went home. A month later, still nothing, no symptoms whatsoever,’ Mr Ford added.
The couple even went on another trip to Florida in May, just weeks before Yvonne’s tragic d3ath.
As he retold the story of his wife’s torturous d3ath, Mr Ford became overcome by emotion, sobbing with his head in his hands.
Stepping in for her father, Yvonne’s daughter Robyn said: ‘We came back from Florida on the 23rd of May, the following week my dad and mum went to York on a fishing trip in the campervan.
‘On the Saturday, my mum started having a horrendous headache, unbearable headache, she couldn’t sleep at all.
+14
View gallery
Yvonne’s husband Ron and her two children Robyn and Adam appeared on the ITV show on Monday to raise awareness about the viral disease and how to prevent a devastating d3ath (pictured)
+14
View gallery
Yvonne Ford pictured with husband Ron before she di3d of rabies after being scratched by a puppy on holiday
+14
View gallery
Robyn said her mother’s d3ath was a huge shock to the whole family – especially as it took so long for her to develop symptoms
+14
View gallery
Yvonne Ford, 59, from Barnsley, South Yorkshire, was scratched on the leg by a small stray puppy lying under her sunbed while on holiday in Morocco with her husband in February – but thought nothing of it at the time
+14
View gallery
The family later found out that it normally takes a few months for rabies symptoms to show – but the deadly disease can incubate for up to two years
‘The Monday after, my dad had taken her to A&E because her headache was so severe, she went into hospital, walking talking, doing everything.
‘Come the Friday, she couldn’t walk, talk, swallow, she had a fear of water, she was horrendously hallucinating, beyond what we could imagine.
‘She just deteriorated within five days.’
Yvonne was choking on her own saliva, so doctors decided to put her in an induced coma.
She was diagnosed with rabies a week later and her distraught family were told her life support had to be turned off.
Now, Robyn wants to spread awareness for rabies – and help stop it at the source via a charity mission in Cambodia.
The mother-of-two has launched a GoFundMe and is appealing for help from the pubic.
She said: ‘This is something I need to do. If I can save even one life through this work, or spare one family from going through the pain we have experienced, then it will be turning a terrible negative into something positive.
‘I’m determined to transform my grief into action – helping vaccinate dogs, support surveillance efforts, and deliver life-saving lessons in schools.’
Doctor Nighat Arif appeared on the sofa to give viewers tips on what to do before going on holiday.
She said: ‘Immediately before going on holiday, there is a rabies vaccine that we can give.
‘Its available privately for travel. We know 59,000 cases of rabies or d3aths across the world in 150 countries.
‘Places like Morocco, Asia, Africa, north Africa, the world has become such a small place now, we don’t think about it. We’ve managed to eradicate it in Europe.’
+14
View gallery
Yvonne Ford with her husband Ron, son Adam and girlfriend Rachel
+14
View gallery
Within days, she could not walk, talk, sleep or swallow. She started hallucinating, and developed a fear of water
+14
View gallery
Yvonne Ford on holiday with husband Ron (right), daughter Robyn, Robyn’s husband Andrew (left) and their children
She continued: ‘If you have a scratch, most immediate thing to do is wash it with soap and water, clean the wound.
‘It’s not always just a scratch that we get from kittens, or dogs or bats, it could be licking of the nose, tongue, lips, eyes, wash all of that out.
‘There is post exposure treatment you can be given as well.’
Dermot thanked the family for appearing on the show and asked: ‘What’s the one message you would like to send to anyone?’
Adam said: ‘Just check the recommendations from the government, Morocco was only recommended for rabies, it’s not a “you have to do it”. Just check.
‘We don’t want people to go through what we’ve gone through. Seeing your mum deteriorate in seven days like that. We don’t want anyone to go through that ever again.
‘If we can get the awareness out, just check, check, check, contact your doctor. Get the injections. That’s all we want.’
This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV.
RABIES, EXPLAINED: BACKYARD ANIMALS CARRY THE DISEASE THAT IS NEARLY 100% FATAL
By Mary Kekatos, Health Reporter for DailyMail.com
Rabies is a virus that attacks the central nervous system and the brain.
It is almost 100 percent fatal if left untreated.
The virus spreads to people via the saliva of infected animals, usually from a bite, but the saliva can also enter through a cut or break in the skin.
In the US, the animals that most commonly transmit rabies are bats, coyotes, foxes, raccoons and skunks.
Signs and symptoms:
Fever
Headache
Vomiting
Excessive salivation
Difficulty swallowing
Confusion
Hallucination
The virus can lay dormant in the body between one and three months in what is known as the ‘incubation period’.
When a person begins showing symptoms, the disease has usually progressed to a point where it is fatal.
Those who believe they’ve been bitten by a rabid animal should wash their wound with soap and water and immediately seek medical attention.
Treatment:
The Mayo Clinic states that two forms of medication need to be given, within 10 days of infection.
Rabies immune globulin shot: Gives a person antibodies against the virus and should be administered near the bite site as soon as possible after the bite
Series of vaccine shots: Helps the body make its own antibodies against the virus. There are four shots that are administered over 14 days
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there have only been 23 cases reported of rabies in the US from 2008 to 2017, with eight of those being contracted outside the US and its territories.
There are typically one to three cases reported every year, the agency says.
