Warwick Davis kept watch at his wife Samantha’s hospital bedside as she fought for her life against sepsis five years before her death at age 53.
The couple, who had been together for almost 30 years, had gone through struggles before losing two children, but this was something Warwick was not prepared for.
Her family was preparing for a caravan holiday in 2019 when Samantha suddenly fell ill with a mystery condition, something she put down to stress.
However, within days she was near death and doctors told her terrified husband that she had sepsis, a rare condition in which the body’s immune system attacks its own organs and tissues.
The thought of losing her “soulmate” tortured Warwick and, although she fought hard to recover, she later admitted that they were still feeling its effects, as they refused to “take life for granted” anymore.
Samantha Davis was seen holding her daughter Annabelle in the hospital while battling sepsis in 2019. She would later make a full recovery.
Warwick Davis photographed with his wife Samantha and children Annabelle and Harrison at the premiere of the television series Willow in November 2022.
Warwick and Samantha Davis photographed at their wedding in Yaxley, Cambridgeshire, in 1991.
It was a motto the couple lived by, enjoying another five years of happiness together before Samantha tragically passed away at the age of 53 last month.
In a moving statement released on Wednesday, Warwick said his late wife’s passing had “left a huge void in our lives” and paid tribute to his “favourite human”.
He described Sammy, as he called her, as his “most trusted confidant and a fervent supporter of everything I did in my career.”
He said he felt like he could accomplish anything with his wife by his side and that he felt like he had a “superpower.”
“He was a unique character, he always saw the happy side of life, had a wicked sense of humor and always laughed at my bad jokes,” Warwick said in a statement given to the BBC.
In 2022, Warwick opened up about Samantha’s health issues, including her tough battle with sepsis that left her near death before making a remarkable recovery.
He revealed that the mother-of-two had fallen ill while preparing for a family caravan holiday in 2019.
At first he felt itchy and tired, but his worry increased when he couldn’t get up.
Warwick called a doctor after hours and told them to go immediately to the nearest emergency room because they feared he might have sepsis.
Samantha Davis (pictured with Warwick), who met her husband on the set of their 1988 film Willow, tragically died aged 53 on March 24.
Warwick and Samantha pictured together on a ‘date night’ in October last year
During their 33-year marriage, they had three children, one of whom tragically died shortly after birth. The couple appears in the photo in 1996.
The disease is caused by an infection that causes the body’s immune system to go into overdrive and attack tissues and organs, which can be fatal and lead to amputations.
Almost 250,000 Britons are diagnosed with sepsis each year, of whom 48,000 die and 40 per cent are left with disabilities and life-altering symptoms.
Upon arrival, doctors examined Samantha and quickly became concerned about a scar on her back from recent spinal surgery that was “swollen with fluid, red and hot to the touch.”
Tests showed he had a deadly Streptococcus bacteria and a meningitis infection, which meant he needed emergency surgery.
He said Sun: ‘The next few hours were the longest of my life as I waited in the living room with our children in the empty space left by Sam’s hospital bed. I hoped it didn’t symbolize a future for us without her.
The ordeal left Samantha in intensive care and doctors flooded her body with antibiotics in a bid to save her life.
The infection had “ravaged every cell in her body”, leaving Samantha extremely weak and her family worried about whether she would pull through.
Warwick continued: ‘Our family gathered at his bedside; Although optimistic, we were kind of saying goodbye in case Sam didn’t survive.’
“It’s very difficult to see someone you love more than anything in the world fighting to stay alive without having the strength to even turn over in bed.”
Samantha was able to fight the disease, although it took three months (and the constant company of her husband) to nurse her back to full health.
However, although Samantha recovered physically, the illness left its mark on both her and Warwick.
“Every night I would break down thinking that this terrible illness that came out of nowhere could take me away from my soulmate,” she told The Sun.
‘Now we never take life for granted and live each day as if it were our last.
“I appreciate and value every moment Sam and I have together.”
It was an ideal they lived by as they enjoyed another five years together before his tragic death on March 24.
The couple’s children (all together in the photo) said they felt “honored to have received love like hers.”
Warwick and Samantha smile and hold hands in the back of a taxi while attending the Pride of Britain Awards at the Grosvenor House Hotel in October 2014 in London.
Samantha and Warwick attending the ITV Palooza! Held at The Royal Festival Hall in October 2018 in London.
Davis said his wife’s mobility had been affected in recent years, but shared that she was determined not to let it get her down.
Her other two children, Annabelle and Harrison, paid tribute to their mother, saying: “Her love and happiness accompanied us throughout our lives.” “Mom is our best friend and we are honored to have received love like hers.”
The couple met on the set of George Lucas’ film Willow and married three years later, in 1991.
During their 33-year marriage, they had three children, one of whom tragically died shortly after birth.
The actor and his wife lost their son Lloyd just nine days after his birth in 1991, the year they married.
Davis said in 2022 that he wouldn’t wish the ‘devastating’ experience on anyone, adding: ‘You never get over it.’
He and Samantha, co-founder of the charity Little People UK, met when Davis played sorceress Willow Ufgood in the 1988 film that bears the character’s name.