‘Losing my wife led me to people with leprosy’

When Jonny’s wife Rachel died suddenly, aged just 39, the grace of God and the support of his local church community carried him and their three young boys through the darkest days of their life. Now he’s working to ensure that those with leprosy get the same support

My wife Rachel was incredibly fit and healthy. She never got ill. Then, one Wednesday in July 2019, everything changed. I was working as a police offer and had just been away for a couple of weeks on business. We had a really nice evening together but she was tired – which was understandable as our youngest son was only four months old – so went to bed early, at about 9pm.

I remember her coming back downstairs some time later, saying she had a bad headache. It got worse and worse. Eventually, we called an ambulance. Rachel was taken to Peterborough hospital and it turned out that she had suffered a brain haemorrhage. Throughout the following day, she slipped in and out of consciousness. She could talk but she wasn’t fluent. Then, on Friday, she wasn’t really conscious at all.