‘I was knifed in the boob by total stranger’
MUM ACTIONS SAVE GIRL
A MUM “died” twice after being stabbed in the boob while protecting her daughter from a knifeman.
Tracy Larkowski, 37, stepped in when a mystery man targeted the 15-year-old outside a supermarket.
When he lunged at young Shakira, Tracy pushed the teenager out of the way. But the blade went into her own chest and just missed her heart.
She was resuscitated twice in A&E where her chest was drained and her punctured lung had to be reinflated.
Mum-of-nine Tracy also suffered broken ribs in the horrific attack.
She said: “There must have been a guardian angel looking over me that day.
“I feel so lucky. I don’t know how I am still alive. Even my surgeon said that.”
Tracy and a 50-year-old male friend had driven to pick up Shakira from outside a Co-op on October 7.
The mum and daughter were walking back to the car when the knifeman “came out of nowhere”.
Tracy said: “He went straight for my daughter. I saw his knife before I saw his face and he had every intention to stab my baby girl.”
Instinct took over and she pushed her girl – knocking her out of the way and to the floor.
She went on: “Before I realised, before I had a chance to turn around or run away, he stuck the knife through my back and ran off.” She went on: “I felt my lung bubbling with blood. I didn’t scream as the pain was phenomenal.
“My lung was filling up with blood and I tried to keep breathing. I was in agony.”
Tracy was rushed to Basildon University Hospital by her pal and remembers “coughing up blood” and seeing it puddle at her feet.
She was losing pints of blood through the open wounds in her chest.
Tracy spent more than three weeks in hospital and needed two operations and four transfusions.
She said: “I didn’t expect to wake up. I have thought about it and I can’t believe how lucky I am to still be here.”
Tracy now faces months of being off work and unable to support her young family. She says she still relives the attack every night.
Tracy said: “I’ve gone from being a working mum to being on benefits and I have anxiety.
“It’s going to be a massive struggle.” “We need to set up a knife programme to try and educate as many people as possible.
“It’s not just the person who has been stabbed who is affected – it’s also family and friends.”
Essex Police have told us a 22-yearold man was arrested on suspicion of GBH with intent and has been released under investigation.
“Getting my smart meter was so simple and it’s made a huge difference to me.”
Heather decided to get a smart meter after hearing that it could be installed by her energy supplier at no extra cost.
She said: “I thought: ‘Why not if it’s going to be an improvement?’ And it has been an improvement for me.
“It only took about an hour for my energy supplier to install and it was easy, with no mess. It’s a tiny thing and not obtrusive in any way.”
Heather, married to welder John, 58, has also found it useful to see how much electricity and gas she uses.
And she was amazed to discover how much some of her appliances cost to run.
She said: “The thing that surprised me most was how much energy it took to boil the kettle.
“I’ve even bought a new kettle, which gives you just a single cup of boiling water, to help save energy.
“A smart meter really does make you more aware of the electricity and gas you are using.”