The heartbroken relatives of a grandmother-of-four who died from rabies after being scratched by a puppy on holiday have launched a campaign to prevent it happening to others
A British woman who died of rabies after being scratched by a puppy on holiday in Morocco has been described as the “most loving person imaginable”.
Yvonne Ford tragically lost her life after a scratch on her leg by a stray dog which was lying under her sunbed. It left her suffering “horrendous” headaches and she was admitted to hospital.
The 59-year-old, from Barnsley in South Yorkshire, was on holiday with her husband in February when she was scratched and was taken to Barnsley Hospital months after she arrived back in the UK.
Yvonne was unable to walk at one point, and couldn’t talk, sleep or swallow. The grandmother-of-four 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.
Now, her daughter Robyn Thomson, 32, also from Barnsley, is on a mission to vaccinate dogs against rabies and to save other families from suffering a similar tragedy.
Neonatal nurse Robyn said: “[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.”
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 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.”