A Belfast husband has paid tribute to his “absolutely amazing wife” and mum-of-three who died suddenly from a rare illness at just 30-years-old.
Paul Morrow, 34, lost his wife Tammy Morrow to Haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) – a rare immune disorder where the body reacts inappropriately to a ‘trigger’, usually an infection.
It can be difficult to diagnose because the symptoms can mimic severe infection or other conditions.
Paul first met the love of his life when they were young teens: “She was actually my best friend’s girlfriend.
“I knew as soon as I set eyes on her whenever we were young kids that she was the girl for me.”
It was one New Year’s night at a Belfast pub several years later that Tammy and Paul reunited in their late teens.
Paul said: “She just walked in one night and it really took off from there.
“I was her New Year’s Eve kiss.
“Ever since then I have pretty much never left her side.”
Tammy is survived by her husband Paul and children Amber Lei, Pegan, and Logan
(Image: Paul Morrow)
Fast forward eleven years to 2021, and the couple were married and living in East Belfast with three children – Amber Lei, 12, Pegan, 10, and Logan, 8.
They went to Tenerife every year (“that was our thing”) and travelled Ireland making special memories together.
Paul worked in a warehouse. Tammy did bar work in Belfast. But her lifelong dream was to become a midwife.
She was accepted onto a course at Queen’s University Belfast, and was only a few months shy of qualifying.
“She was so, so close to living her dream,” Paul said.
Sudden illness
A month before Tammy passed away, Paul said his wife started complaining of having severely itchy fingers, and nothing was taking the itch away.
She then contracted what they thought was thrush, which she was also unable to relieve symptoms of.
Tammy rang her GP when she developed a temperature, headache and rash. She went to A&E as advised, and was admitted to hospital.
This was the start of “thirteen days with no answers,” her husband said.
Tammy was kept in hospital, but doctors could not understand why she was unwell. After seven days, her symptoms temporarily improved and she was able to return home.
Her temperature was controlled with tablets, but this only lasted a matter of days.
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Reluctantly, Tammy returned to hospital, and Paul said being separated due to Covid restrictions at that time “broke our hearts”.
Paul was able to speak to his wife on the phone. He said: “It was like talking to a completely different person.
“She could hardly breathe,” he said, “You could hear the ventilator in the background.”
Tammy was taken to intensive care, where doctors tried a number of methods to help Tammy. But the family were called in when she took another turn for the worse.
Paul said: “I never left her side. Never raised my head off her shoulder.
“I heard her very last breath. It will never ever leave me, that sound.”
Tammy died on Wednesday, May 26, with her husband by her side.
Tammy strived to help people in the most extraordinary ways, her husband said
(Image: Tammy Morrow)
Speaking about his late wife, Paul said: “She really was a one in a million person.
“Everyone always came before herself, pretty much.
“Where uni was concerned, she was always pushing herself to be the better person.
“It’s really hard to sum her up because she was just absolutely amazing.”
From helping university mates to offering to be a surrogate mum for another close friend, Paul said “she always looked out for someone else.”
He added: “I’m just a normal person, Tammy was absolutely exceptional.”
Speaking two months on from Tammy’s death, Paul said: “I’m still expecting her to come through the front door and shout at me and say, ‘Why haven’t you done the washing!’
“I am totally lost without her. It’s the kids that have kept me going.”
“I’ve said to the kids, we will never forget how sick mummy was. But at the same time, we need to learn to live with it.”
As well as paying tribute to his wife, Paul wanted to raise awareness of the syndrome that took Tammy’s life, to prevent other families having to go through the same pain.
You can find more information about HLH on the NHS Great Ormond Street Hospital website.
A GoFundMe has also been set up, ‘In Memory of Tammy Morrow’.
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