Two months after his wife’s extremely unexpected death, Gareth Richardson has finally been told what happened to his wife, Rachel.
Tragically, the Gold Coast mum-of-two was one of the unlucky ones – she died from a common bacterial infection that normally causes no more than a mild illness.
The 34-year-old went to bed with a cold and never woke up – leaving behind a devastated husband and their two beautiful girls Kate, 4, and Anna, 18 months.
“The most comforting part is knowing it’s not a genetic thing and the girls don’t have to live life wondering what may happen to them,” Gareth told Gold Coast Bulletin.
“It’s nice to know that in time I’ll be able to have that conversation with the girls — there’s nothing to fear. Don’t fear life. Don’t fear tomorrow. This was just a freak accident.”
Rachel was one of the rare cases where the Group A streptococcus bacterium releases potentially fatal toxins into one’s bloodstream.
“Even if I had been there and rushed her to hospital, we still would have lost her.”
Rachel with her daughter Kate. Picture: Gold Coast Bulletin.
“There was smoke everywhere”
The fateful winter’s day in July 2016 was nothing out of the ordinary. Rachel took the day off with a standard cold that many people struggle with during the colder months.
But when Gareth called her 10 minutes after leaving home she had decided to go to work - then by 11am she phoned him to say she was going home because she wasn’t feeling so great.
Gareth called her again mid-afternoon but she didn’t answer. So he just picked up the girls from his parent’s place like he does every Wednesday and took them home.
“There was smoke everywhere,” Gareth recalls. “I checked the bedroom and saw her lying there, just like a shadow, so I ran back to the kitchen to sort the smoke out.”
Rachel passed away in her sleep.
“She was just resting peacefully, as if she’d fallen asleep”
He opened the oven to find a pie that had been completely burnt.
Then he went back to the bedroom to discover that Rachel had passed away.
“She was just resting peacefully, as if she’d fallen asleep, but I could tell straight away. I had grown up in lifesaving and knew the signs. She had been gone for a few hours.”
Gareth put the girls in the playroom and locked the door while he called the police.
“They will grow up feeling like they know their mother,” says Gareth. Picture: Gold Coast Bulletin.
“I told Kate ‘Mummy’s heart stopped working'”
In what must have been the single worst moment of his life – Gareth did the incredible thing any parent could ever have done when they have just lost their soul mate.
“I took the girls to the bedroom and showed them Rach,” he says. “It just seemed like the right to do. I just wanted them to know the truth and see what had happened.
“I told Kate ‘Mummy’s heart stopped working, Mummy’s died’ … Rach looked so peaceful. It was quite a serene setting, no different to how they had seen Mum asleep before. It wasn’t traumatic. It’s kind of given her a bit of closure to see it and experience it. There are no secrets.”
Gareth lost the love of his life.
“She was such a great mother so it’s going to be a tough gig”
He feels very overwhelmed by trying to fill his wife’s shoes.
“Having to live up to Rach as a mum is one fear,” he says. “She was such a great mother (so) it’s going to be a tough gig.”
Thankfully, their adorable girls are doing OK.
“Those memories will always be held fondly and I share my own memories of Rach with the girls now,” Gareth says. “They will grow up feeling like they know their mother. That’s important to me.”
“I actually took them camping with a mate a couple of weekends ago,” he says. “Raising the girls really excites me, just being able to spend so much time with them.
“They keep you pretty humble so it’s not hard to stay happy, that’s for sure.”
