A NEWLYWED whose husband died of an undiagnosed heart condition just six months after they married had to spend their honeymoon fund on his funeral.
Primary school teacher Edward Burr, 32, suffered a shortness of breath two weeks after he tied the knot with Laura Burr, 31.
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He was diagnosed with pneumonia and heart failure and never recovered despite having a heart pump fitted and months of specialist treatment.
Doctors decided to switch off his life support machine while he awaited a heart transplant and Laura held his hand as he died peacefully 186 days after they wed.
Laura is now campaigning for mandatory ‘health MOTs’ for people aged 30 and over – currently the minimum age is 40 for men and women.
She believes this simple test could have saved his life by revealing heart abnormalities via a blood pressure and cholesterol checks.
Read more on heart failure
Laura, a helpline operator from Banbury, Oxfordshire, said: “If Ed had received a health MOT at 30, the absolute minimum is that I would’ve had more time with him.
“At his funeral, I couldn’t stop wondering: ‘How did we get here?’ “It was crazy – we were newlyweds who were supposed to be arguing over who does the dishes, and who’s cooking dinner.”
Ed and Laura walked down the aisle at Banbury United Reformed Church on April 6, 2024.
The next day Ed began complaining of “hot and cold sweats,” preventing him from sleeping all night.
Thinking he just had a cold, the primary school teacher “dosed up” on vitamin C, cold and flu tablets.
Two weeks later, on April 21, Ed began suffering from shortness of breath – which couldn’t be alleviated with an inhaler.
“We went to A&E at Horton General Hospital,” Laura said.
“He had an EKG and blood tests; he was diagnosed with pneumonia and told to come for a follow-up appointment on May 2.”
Ed’s condition didn’t get any better, and on April 30, an ambulance was sent to take him back to hospital for admission.
On May 2, the day of the originally-scheduled follow-up, Ed was transferred to the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, for further investigations.
Doctors couldn’t pinpoint the infection which caused his pneumonia – and were trying to treat his heart failure at the same time.
Laura added: “Ed’s doctors said he’d be easier to treat if he had heart failure or pneumonia – but because he had both, they had to prioritise which one was causing him more damage.”
‘I held his hand as he died’
The care team kept Ed admitted for seven weeks, before discharging him home.
Laura was told to keep an eye out for any deterioration, including tiredness and lethargy – and on July 13, after three weeks at home and a night in Horton General Hospital, Ed was readmitted to JRH.
On July 19, Ed had a biventricular assist device (BIVAD) fitted, which is designed to support the ventricles if they aren’t pumping blood to the heart properly.
But he had to remain closely monitored, in-and-out of ICU for a further two months, when he was placed on the heart transplant list.
“The weekend of October 3, I had a very strange feeling,” Laura said.
“Not unusually, the chaplain came to bless Ed – which he did, every Sunday.
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“But this time, while he was reading the prayer, I started sobbing, uncontrollably.”
Laura, her twin and Ed’s dad were “politely kicked out” as visiting hours finished at 7:30pm Four hours later, while on the phone to a friend, Laura received a phone call from the hospital – telling her Ed had taken a turn for the worse.
Grabbing Jenny, Ed’s childhood teddy bear, Laura, her parents and Ed’s dad made their way back to the hospital.
A doctor pulled the family into a side room, and told them Ed’s BIVAD machine was dying, and his life support machine would need to be switched off.
“We played him his favourite music, and my sister read him a poem,” Laura said.
“And, 186 days after marrying him, I held his hand as he died.”
The couple had been saving up to go away for a honeymoon – adding money into the “pot” at the end of each month, as well as wedding donations.
But the money, which Laura said “would’ve been enough to take them to Disney,” was spent on Ed’s funeral.
Laura is now pouring her energy into her new campaign, which she has co-founded with friend Gabriella Evans, who lost her husband, Tom, 34, to an undiagnosed heart condition.
Everything you need to know about heart failure
HEART failure is a condition where the heart is unable to pump blood around the body properly.
It usually occurs because the heart had become too weak or stiff.
The main symptoms include:
- Breathlessness after activity or at rest
- Feeling tired most of the time and finding exercise exhausting
- Feeling lightheaded or fainting
- Swollen ankles and legs
Some people also experience other symptoms, such as a persistent cough, a fast heart rate and dizziness.
Symptoms can develop quickly or gradually over weeks or months.
The condition is often caused by a combination of factors affecting the heart, including coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, heart valve problems, and heart muscle diseases.
Left untreated, heart failure can lead to a number of serious health complications, including cardiac arrhythmias, heart valve problems, kidney damage or failure, liver damage, and even sudden cardiac death.
See a GP if you experience persistent or gradually worsening symptoms of heart failure.
Source: NHS
