A dad has relived the moment his wife died 'in the blink of an eye' - in a blog post about bringing up his young daughter alone.
Mark Wilcock's wife Katherine died two years ago at the age of just 35.
Now the 39-year-old has spoken about how he and his daughter have coped since, the Liverpool Echo reports.
Mark, from Southport, said: “It was midday during the May Day Bank Holiday, 2017. I was 37 years of age. I left my house as a married man and father to a beautiful eight-month-old baby daughter, Margot.
“Within a few hours, I was sat next to a hospital bed, a single parent widower.
“My wife, Katherine, was taken suddenly within the blink of an eye, at just 35 years of age.
“I always remember just how happy and content we both felt that day. We had only recently celebrated our second wedding anniversary.
“We walked, we talked, discussing life and all it had to offer us presently and for the future. We eventually decided to take a break at a local pub.
“Katherine expressed how she didn’t feel quite right and needed to sit and rest.
“I left my wife seated next to our daughter’s pram, whilst I went to fetch a glass of water.
“Returning within minutes, my wife sat lifelessly slumped next to the pram, motionless.
“Like the flick of a switch, her heart had stopped instantly."
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Katherine died from Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome, a cardiac arrest from a disturbance in the heart’s rhythm.
Mark and Katherine first met as work colleagues at Edge Hill University in 2012.
Mark and Katherine started dating and their relationship blossomed from there.
Mark said: “We got on so well as soon as we met. We were destined to be together.
“Everything just fell into place. I was living out my dreams when I met her."
'Shock can make you become a pillar of strength to everyone and everything'
He said: “In the beginning, it was horrible. I was in massive shock.
“This made me face a massive gap between the way my world should be and the way the world is now.
“I was absolutely floored by grief for a long time and I had to seek the strength to raise a child alone.
“Shock can make you become a pillar of strength to everyone and everything.
“I presented myself as the superhero dad, doing everything by the book.
“Deep down I just wanted to crumble and to be dragged down into the pits of emptiness, sadness and pain. The shock had absorbed everything I should have been or should have done.”
Following Katherine's death, with the help of family, he did a lot of fundraising to purchase public defibrillators for the areas that mattered to them.
He said: “When Katherine’s heart stopped I didn't have access to a defibrillator. She received CPR for a long period of time before an ambulance arrived.
“If I had access to one then maybe my wife could have stood a better chance."
'I knew I could turn my negative energy into a positive one'
Mark also threw his energy into giving the best start in life to Margot, now two and a half years old, and to sharing his experiences on a blog, called No Rain No Rainbows.
He said: “I quickly realised the best way to honour Katherine’s memory was to do everything in my power to try to raise a happy and contented child.
“I wanted to live my life the way Katherine would have wanted me to.
“I’ve always thought about when life comes into the world. We’re made to be prepared before and after. We receive an endless supply of professional face to face appointments and support materials.
"Even health visitors visit our homes after the birth of a child to ensure everyone as expected. Sadly, when life goes the other way, this is not the case.
“This led me to start a blog. I desperately wanted to express all the experiences and emotions I had fought through. I knew that I needed a long-term outlet for my grief.
“I knew I could turn my negative energy into a positive one."
You can find Mark Wilcock’s blog at www.norainnorainbows.net
