How Warwick Davis & wife Samantha survived agony of losing son aged just 9 days after he inherited couple’s conditions
WARWICK Davis and his wife Samantha survived the agony of losing their son aged just 9 days after he inherited the couple’s conditions.
Samantha has died aged 53, heartbroken actor Warwick revealed in a statement yesterday.
Warwick Davis’s wife Samantha has died aged just 53[/caption] The couple with their children Harrison and Annabelle in 2014[/caption] Warwick’s touching final pic of Samantha[/caption]Harry Potter star Warwick described Samantha as his “favourite human” after she passed away on March 24.
Samantha is survived by Warwick and the couple’s children Harrison and Annabelle.
The couple had the two beloved children after a series of tragic struggles.
Warwick and Samantha lost their baby Lloyd just nine days after he was born in 1991.
Lloyd inherited dwarfism from both his parents and his lungs were too small to support normal function.
In an interview, Warwick said: “It’s something that a baby won’t survive.
“But Lloyd survived for nine days, but yeah he was beautiful. It was a tough time.
“That kind of stuff just makes you stronger.”
The couple lost a second child when Samantha miscarried at 20 weeks in 1993, with the couple naming the baby George.
Samantha suffered another two miscarriages before giving birth to Annabelle and Harrison.
Devastated Warwick, 54, said: “Her passing has left a huge hole in our lives as a family. I miss her hugs.”
He told the BBC: “She was a unique character, always seeing the sunny side of life.
“She had a wicked sense of humour and always laughed at my bad jokes.
“Without Sammy, there would have been no Tenable quiz show, no Willow series. No Idiot Abroad Series 3.”
Warwick said Samantha was his “most trusted confidant and an ardent supporter of everything I did in my career”.
Harrison and Annabelle added: “Mum is our best friend and we’re honoured to have received a love like hers.
“Her love and happiness carried us through our whole lives.”
Warwick's final pic of 'beautiful wife'
The actor announced the tragic death of Samantha in a moving statement last night. She was just 53.
The most recent snap on Warwick’s Instagram page was shared six months ago and showed the couple on a date night.
Alongside the smiley selfie, he wrote: “A long overdue date night with my beautiful wife. She felt a bit overdressed for McDonald’s.”
Their fans complimented them both calling them “awesome” and a “lovely couple”.
The couple met on the set of movie Willow in 1988 and married three years later.
Samantha was best known for her roles in Through the Dragon’s Eye, ShortFellas and Honky Sausages.
Her dad Peter, an extra in Willow, later became Warwick’s business partner.
Samantha had achondroplasia, a bone growth disorder that causes disproportionate dwarfism.
Warwick previously opened up about his wife’s health after she was rushed to hospital with sepsis in 2018.
The actor told The Sun that her health dramatically declined ahead of a family caravan holiday.
Speaking of the horror a few years later, he said: “The next few hours were the longest of my life as I waited on the ward with our children in the empty space left by Sam’s hospital bed.
“I hoped it would not symbolise a future for us without her.”
Sam had numerous operations due to her condition.
It is thought she contracted sepsis after decompression surgery on her spine.
She said of her near death experience: “We went home a week later and suddenly I couldn’t feel my legs.
“I thought I was still recovering from the surgery so I went to bed, but the next day I felt awful, as though I had been hit by a truck.
“I stayed in bed all day while Warwick and Harrison went to a family party and the next morning I woke at 4am feeling even worse.
“As the day went on I couldn’t concentrate, I lay on the sofa and when I tried to get up I collapsed on the floor.”
THROUGH THICK AND THIN
Samantha once highlighted their unique romance with a tribute to her “beautiful inside and out” husband in a heartwarming birthday message.
She wrote: “You are the bravest, most caring and sensitive person I know.
“You amaze us all everyday with your courage and strength.
“I love you to the moon and back. Always and forever yours.”
To mark her birthday, Warwick also tweeted a tribute to his “beautiful wife”.
He added: “I so admire how she faces life’s challenges with dignity, energy and courage – she’s an inspiration.”
The couple's health conditions
Warwick, co-founder of charity Little People UK, has often spoken out about the health battles related to his own condition, as well his wife’s.
He was born with Spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita (SED), an extremely rare genetic form of dwarfism, which has been inherited by both their children.
He told the Guardian in 2015: “You look at somebody with dwarfism, the first thing that strikes you is probably that they’re short, and that’s it.
“But that’s the tip of the iceberg.
“It gets worse.
“Could be a cleft palate, hearing loss – or you end up in a wheelchair.”
He added: “As you get older, it gets worse.
“My hips are dislocated. Very painful knees.”
Samantha underwent numerous surgeries in her lifetime due to her achondroplasia, a bone growth disorder that causes disproportionate dwarfism.
In 2019, she was raced to hospital after complications following decompression surgery on her spine.
Samantha had contracted life-threatening sepsis and Warwick was preparing himself to say ‘goodbye’.
The infection causes the body’s immune system to go into overdrive and attack tissues and organs, which can be lethal and lead to amputations.
Sam survived but had it not been for her medical team acting so quickly, she could have lost fingers, toes or limbs.
After being discharged, Warwick ‘played doctor’ for three months – mixing vials of antibiotics, loading them into syringes and carefully feeding them into Sam’s heart through a drip.