In December 1999, Tom Ray suffered a small cut to his mouth during a routine trip to the dentist. An annoying minor inconvenience, he thought, right? Wrong. Two days later he was in hospital, drifting in and out of consciousness. His body was swollen and covered with a purple rash. Blood was weeping from his eyes, and his eight-and-a-half-month pregnant wife Nic, confused and distressed, was by his side. Within just a few hours, he was fighting for his life.
Starfish tells the story of life before, during and after the Sepsis which claimed Tom’s lower arms, legs, and a large portion of his face. Tom details what it is like waking up to the realisation that his life has changed beyond recognition; all the brutality, all the confusion, all the despair. There is poignant and shocking detail, there is physical and mental trauma, there is enduring love. While he was in a coma Nic gave birth to Freddy, brother to 3-year-old Grace.
Together, Tom and Nic revisit the transition back into reality and all the struggles and problems they now face, the financial hardship, the psychological and medical struggles, and the long road to recovery and acceptance, culminating recently in the extraordinary process of having their lives dramatised in the film version of Starfish, starring Joanne Froggatt and Tom Riley.
Whilst Sepsis is the second biggest killer in the UK, with an estimated 44,000 deaths a year in the UK, public awareness surrounding the illness remains relatively low. Today, Tom and Nic are keen to raise the profile and understanding of Sepsis and, on a wider level, to show how individuals and organisations can recover from all kinds of setbacks, crises and disasters. They have established a motivational speaking business Resilience & Co offering keynote speeches and workshops. The impact of their story on audiences worldwide is powerful and inspiring. Full information is available at www.resilienceand.co
Starfish the book was released to coincide with World Sepsis Day on September 13, 2017.
Both the book and the DVD are available from www.amazon.com.