In 2015, Michael Herz met Saima for the first time as the pair went on their first date, not knowing that three short years later, he would have to say goodbye to her forever.
Just four months after the happy couple got married in 2018, Saima, 30, died of a rare brain condition called encephalitis, which causes an inflammation of the organ.
At first, Saima, who worked as a nursery manager, thought she had caught a nasty cold and visited her local GP, who prescribed rest and paracetamol. The next day, she felt better and decided to go into work, when tragedy struck.
Michael received a phone call from one of his wife’s colleagues, who told him to come and pick her up. Four days later, doctors told Michael and Saima’s family that they would need to make a decision on whether to turn off the machines that were keeping Saima alive.
Her condition had worsened, and they were unable to find a heartbeat.
‘I gave her a kiss and told her I loved her and that I’d make her proud,’ Michael said.
‘Saima was everything to me and now she’d gone.’
Michael has now decided to open up about what happened to his late wife, in an effort to cherish her memory and raise awareness of the illness that caused her death.
The 29-year-old buried his wife in her wedding dress in December last year.
‘She was buried in her wedding dress, which she’d always said she wanted to wear again one day,’ Michael said.
According to the NHS, it’s not always clear what causes encephalitis, but it can be due to viral infections, an issue with the immune system – which causes the body’s defence system to attack the brain – or bacterial and fungal infections.
It usually presents itself with cold and flu symptoms, but can also include seizures, speaking difficulties and changes in personality or behaviour, among other symptoms.
The couple started chatting through the dating app Plenty of Fish, and reminiscing of their past, Michael said he was sure he’d met his ‘soulmate’.
On their first date, they got so caught up in talking that they missed their dinner reservation, and date two followed days later.
The following year, in September 2016, they took a trip to Thailand together, where Michael got down on one knee and popped the question.
‘It may have seemed quick, but there was no doubt in my mind I had found my soulmate,’ he said.
‘Saima was my best friend. She was so elegant – the softest, nicest person you could ever meet.
‘We loved travelling, going out to restaurants, seeing our circle of friends – just enjoying and building our life together.
‘So, after a year together, I took her to Thailand on a surprise holiday. We had a private beach with our own photographer, and that’s where I proposed with a ring I had designed myself.’
This isn’t the first time tragedy has truck in Michael’s life.
The widower lost his mum Jane, 37 and his brother Ben, nine, in a car accident when he was 12 years old, in December 2002 when on holiday in South Africa. Michael and his dad survived the crash.
It made Michael hesitant to ‘letting’ people into his heart, but all that changed when he met Saima.
‘Growing up, I had been unsure about relationships and letting somebody in,’ said Michael.
‘With what happened to my mum and brother, I was scared to lose another person – but when I met Saima, I fell in love.
‘We were proper sweethearts, doing everything together. She was such a compassionate, beautiful woman, and if one good thing can come out of this horrendous situation then it’s to raise that awareness of encephalitis and help other families.’
Michael said: ‘We met when I was 25, and she was 27.
‘At first, she was hesitant, as I was younger than her, and she wanted somebody settled and mature.
‘But we chatted anyway and she soon saw that I am an independent person.
‘With what happened to me, I grew up quickly, and have always been a grafter and hard worker. We spoke online for three months before we finally met in person.
‘As soon as I saw her in real life, I fell in love.’
The pair got married on 26 August 2018 in front of their friends and family at Victoria Warehouse in Manchester, before embarking on a two-week-long holiday in Mauritius.
Michael said: ‘I absolutely bawled my eyes out when I saw Saima in her dress. She looked beautiful.
‘We got married under a canopy made from my mum’s wedding dress, so that was really special.’
Unfortunately, Michael’s happy ending didn’t last long.
He recalls the day he drove her to the hospital, where she would die days later.
‘I only worked around a mile-and-a-half away, so I raced right over to get her,’ Michael said.
‘She hardly recognised me, and she was struggling to walk, to the point where I had to pick her up and take her to the car.
‘When we got to A&E at Stepping Hill Hospital, she collapsed and started to have seizures. At that point, I knew it was something really bad.
‘I told her that I loved her and begged her to stay awake – but then her eyes rolled back and she stopped responding.
‘At that point, I just fell to my knees, crying in the middle of the hospital.’
Saima was placed in an induced coma while doctors ran tests – a brain scan showed what had caused her seizure: encephalitis.
On 17 December, they gave Michael the news no husband ever wants to hear.
‘Everyone did everything they could, but after four days, during which time they took lots of advice from encephalitis specialists, the medical team told us that her brain and many of her organs weren’t functioning,’ he said.
‘Her heart was only beating because she was hooked up to a machine. If they turned it off, she’d have very little chance. When she was in hospital, I remember praying, saying to God, “If she survives but has no quality of life, please take her”.
‘Saima was so strong and elegant and never asked anybody for anything. I knew she would have hated being in a vegetative state, having me as her round-the-clock carer.
‘In the end we agreed with the doctors to let her go, and so her family and I gathered around her bedside and the machine was turned off.’
The couple were of Jewish faith, which dictates that a body should be buried as soon as possible after death – Saima’s funeral took place the very next day.
In honour of his late wife’s memory, Michael has been raising money for The Encephalitis Society, with hopes that more research will prevent deaths.
‘I needed to do something to turn this horrendous tragedy into a potential positive for other people,’ said Michael.
‘Even those that survive encephalitis can be left with horrible side effects. More research will mean that people like Saima don’t just disappear.
‘It’s such a dangerous condition as it’s not like it’s caused by any one thing you can avoid doing. In Saima’s case, doctors don’t even know what triggered it.’
He’s also taking part in a three-day event, cycling from the location of their wedding in Manchester to Buckingham Palace in London, in April 2020.
‘I want to raise as much money as possible so we one day have better drugs and treatments to fight this,’ he said.
‘And I decided to end up at Buckingham Palace, because I wanted somewhere literally fit for a queen, as that’s what Saima was to me.
‘Everybody that met her, loved her. She didn’t have a bad bone in her body, and I know I will never meet anybody else like her.’
MORE: Dare you not to cry at this groom surprising the bride with a kitten on their wedding day
MORE: One of UK’s youngest terminal breast cancer patients has beautiful ‘bucket list’ wedding
MORE: Bride ties the knot wearing a wedding dress made of patches crafted by friends and family
source https://metro.co.uk/2019/10/28/newlywed-buries-wife-wedding-dress-four-months-special-day-10997220/
0 Comments