Yvonne Ford, from Barnsley, began suffering severe symptoms months after being scratched by a puppy in Morocco and she went on to not be able to walk or talk before tragically dying
A British mum suffered “horrendous headaches” and went on to not be able to walk or talk before dying of rabies after a “mild scratch” from a puppy on holiday, said her daughter.
Yvonne Ford, from Barnsley in South Yorkshire, was in Morocco with her husband in February when she came into contact with the stray dog which was lying under her sunbed. But because there was just the slightest scratch, the 59-year-old thought nothing of it and it was months after when she was back in the UK that she was feeling very unwell and went to Barnsley Hospital. Her daughter Robyn Thomson told how the rabies took hold very slowly as it affected her sleep before stopping her from talking or swallowing. The grandmother-of-four also began hallucinating and developed a fear of water.
She was transferred to Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield where she was eventually diagnosed with the rare but devastating virus and sadly she passed away on June 11.
Neonatal nurse Robyn, 32, from Barnsley, says her mum was a “huge animal lover” and had the “biggest heart”.
“[Mum] was the most loving person imaginable. She had the biggest heart. 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,” she said.
Robyn said her mum’s death was a huge shock to the whole family, especially as it took so long for her to develop symptoms, before adding: “She and dad were on a holiday in Morocco and they were on a private beach next to the hotel. There was a puppy underneath mum’s sunbed and it scratched her leg.
“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. Mum 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. Soon, she couldn’t sleep, she couldn’t walk, she couldn’t talk. She was hallucinating and had a fear of water. She couldn’t swallow. She was choking on her own saliva. So doctors put her in an induced coma.
“It wasn’t until over a week later that she was diagnosed with rabies. 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.”
Yvonne’s 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.
Now Robyn is on a mission to vaccinate dogs against rabies and to save other families from suffering a similar tragedy. She wants to spread awareness for rabies and help stop it at the source via a charity mission in Cambodia.
She is flying out to the southeast Asian country this October to volunteer with Mission Rabies, which is an award-winning charity that leads mass dog vaccination campaigns, rabies surveillance, and vital community education across Asia and Africa.
Their goal is to vaccinate at least 70% of the dog population to achieve herd immunity to stop rabies at its source, while also educating children on how to recognise rabid animals and stay safe.
To volunteer with Rabies Mission, Robyn needs to raise money to cover the cost of travel, accommodation, and project fees. The mum-of-two has launched a GoFundMe and is appealing for help from the public.
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.”