New Year’s is a holiday. It’s not for Jason Watkins, the 60-year-old English actor of The Crowe, and his wife Clara Francis. On New Year’s Day 2011, Jason and Clara lost their daughter Maude to sepsis when she was just two years old.
Maude, twice sent home from the ER
Maude was the second child of the actor and Clara Francis. She was only two and a half years old when a severe cough combined with breathing problems led to her death. Maude was taken to the emergency room twice and sent home each time. Little did doctors know she had sepsis, the terrible inflammation that led to her death.
The walk in the park where there is a bench dedicated to the little girl
Since then, the family went for a walk in Hampstead Heath Park in London in January. It’s nowhere a walk. In fact, there is a bench in the park dedicated to Maude. “We go to his bank with friends, then we all go back to our house together. It’s a beautiful thing to do.”
The photo on Twitter
Earlier this year, Jason also shared a photo of Maude on Twitter to mark the sad date, along with a caption that read, “Every anniversary hurts. So different every year.”
The actor and Clara – who had another son, Gilbert, after Maude’s death – are now struggling to make everyone aware of the symptoms of sepsis so they can effectively combat them. In the UK, a thousand children die each year from sepsis, which if caught early can be cured.
Jason’s family has been featured in a documentary about the Maude tragedy, due out this year. “It’s about providing comfort and context for families who are suffering like ours and to provide information about sepsis. We hope to help other families save their children.”
Last updated: Thursday 19 January 2023 15:59
© REPRODUCTION RESERVED