Daughter issues heartbreaking warning after mom dies following ‘mild scratch’ from puppy months earlier
Brit Yvonne Ford died of rabies last month
Callum Jones
The daughter of a British woman who died of rabies after she was scratched by a puppy on vacation has issued a heartbreaking warning.
Yvonne Ford, 59, was scratched 'very slightly' by a puppy while holidaying in Morocco in February, with her daughter, Robyn Thompson, saying that because it 'never got infected', her mom didn't think much of it.
Months after traveling, however, Ford, from Barnsley, UK, began suffering from a 'horrendous' headache and was later admitted to hospital.
Within days, she was unable to walk, talk, sleep, or swallow. She also started hallucinating and even developed a fear of water, as Robyn added: "She was choking on her own saliva. So doctors put her in an induced coma."
Advert
Yvonne was transferred to Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield, where she was diagnosed with rabies. She later died on June 11.
Her daughter said that her mother's sudden and rapid decline came as a huge shock given that she'd been scratched a few months prior.
The 32-year-old, also from Barnsley, said: "There was no blood and no evidence of the dog being unwell. It was such a mild scratch and it never got infected so we just thought nothing of it at the time.
"Mom came home and everything was normal. We went to Florida as a family and she went fishing with my dad. But in June she came down with this horrendous headache. She was in a lot of pain so went to hospital.
"It wasn't until over a week later that she was diagnosed with rabies."
According to The World Health Organization (WHO), the incubation period for rabies is usually between two to three months, however, it can vary from one week to a year depending on the location and amount of the virus entering the body.
Robyn continued: "There's only one outcome for rabies once symptoms develop and it's death every time. So we had to turn off her life support."
Now, the 32-year-old is trying to spread awareness surrounding rabies to stop other families from experiencing similar tragedies.
Later this year, the neonatal nurse is flying out to Cambodia to volunteer with Mission Rabies - an charity that leads mass dog vaccination campaigns, rabies surveillance, and community education across both Asia and Africa.
The charity's goal is to vaccinate at least 70 per cent of the dog population to achieve herd immunity.
Robyn has set up a GoFundMe to raise cash to cover the cost of travel, accommodation, and project fees during her time volunteering for the charity.
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."
Describing her mom as 'the most loving person imaginable', she said: "She was my best friend and the most fantastic grandparent to mine and my brother's children. She was a huge animal lover so for her to have died of rabies - it is just particularly horrendous.
"She will be missed so dearly."
You can visit the GoFundMe here.