Aston Villa midfielder Missy Bo Kearns reveals sepsis and miscarriage ordeal
Aston Villa and England midfielder Missy Bo Kearns has revealed she spent four days in hospital battling sepsis after suffering a miscarriage in March.
The international star and her partner, Luton Town player Liam Walsh, initially shared news of their pregnancy at the beginning of last month.
However, tragedy struck weeks later when the former Liverpool prospect fell suddenly ill at the Midlands club’s Bodymoor Heath training complex.
Seeking advice from team sports doctor Jodie Blackadder-Weinstein, she was immediately rushed for emergency medical care with a dangerously high temperature.
Life-saving medical intervention
Sepsis is a severe, life-threatening emergency reaction to an infection that causes the immune system to overcompensate and attack the body’s own tissues and organs.
“I thought it was just like a pregnancy symptom, and the doctor came in and checked my temperature… I was 42 degrees, but I was shaking.”
“We went to the hospital, and that’s when we found out that straight away, we had lost the baby and that I’d got sepsis.”
The talented playmaker expressed profound gratitude to the Villa medical staff for their decisive actions that day.
“I was not wanting to go, because there’s nothing worse than obviously going to a hospital, but they probably saved my life.”
Navigating profound grief
While the midfielder has returned to the training ground to rebuild her physical fitness, the emotional recovery remains an ongoing challenge.
“I wouldn’t say I’m fully coping. Yesterday, I was upset all day because I got some news about the things we have to sort and it just comes and goes in waves.”
The couple endured a gruelling hospital stay in Birmingham to treat the infection and process the devastating loss.
Determined to help others, the courageous athlete urged those experiencing similar heartbreak not to suffer in silence.
She specifically highlighted the pregnancy and baby loss charity Tommy’s as a vital resource for grieving parents.
