Jason Watkins and his wife Clara Francis have spoken about making an ITV documentary in memory of their daughter, Maude, who tragically passed away aged two after contracting sepsis.
Jason & Clara: In Memory of Maudie is set to air on Thursday at 9pm, and Clara shared an Instagram post writing about the experience of filming the show, explaining: "Last summer @jasonwatkinsofficial and I made a documentary all about our glorious Maudie. Revisiting the circumstances leading up to her death and the early days, months after was possibly the hardest thing I’ve done since that devastating time 11 years ago. It was gruesome."
She continued: "In the documentary we talk about how one survives and continues to live a good life after the death of a beloved child and also about Sepsis and how insidious a condition it is - the hope being that a/we may bring some comfort to other bereaved parents b/ to raise awareness for Sepsis so hopefully deaths like Maudie’s, armed with the facts, will be avoided."
She added that despite feeling "apprehensive" about it being aired, it would be "worth it" if other lives are saved.
Speaking to ITV, Jason added: "I do feel apprehensive, I do think it’s a delicate thing and I think, ‘Are we doing the right thing?’ But it does feel like something to be shared and it can help us and other people."
In the upcoming documentary, the couple open up about support groups for the bereaved, and Jason meets two fathers who have also lost their daughters to sepsis.
Maude passed away on New Year's Day in 2011. At first, the couple believed she had the flu – and when that didn't clear up they took her to the GP, and later twice to A&E, by which time was struggling to breathe.
Jason recalled that on New Year's Eve 2010, the family were sent home from hospital, and Clara put Maude down to bed. The next morning, the couple's other daughter came in to tell them she couldn't wake her sibling. Sepsis is a life threatening illness that can be hard to spot – see the NHS site here for symptoms.
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