NEWLYWED ON
BRIDE Saima Herz proudly poses for a wedding photographer in her white lace gown – looking forward to her new life with husband Michael.
But only four months after her big day she would be wearing her dress once again – to be laid to rest.
Saima’s dreams of a long and happy future as a wife and mum were tragically ended by a sudden brain disease.
And Michael, 29 – himself struck by tragedy in childhood – was robbed of the woman who had helped him to become happy again.
Now, in her memory, he is working tirelessly to raise money for more research into the killer disease that snatched Saima, 30, from him.
“She was everything to me,” says Michael. “She always said she wanted to wear her wedding dress again one day – so she was buried in it. And I asked that all the ushers from our wedding walk her coffin to her grave.”
Saima was killed by encephalitis – a condition that causes inflammation of the brain and claims 6,000 victims a year in the UK. “On the day of her funeral I told Saima I would make her proud,” says Michael. “And if one good thing can come out of this horrendous situation, it’s to raise awareness and help other families.”
He and Saima met through dating website Plenty of Fish in September 2015. They spoke for three months online before meeting in person.
Up to then, Michael had been wary of forming close relationships, scarred in childhood by a family tragedy.
I asked all the ushers at our wedding to walk beside her coffin WIDOWER MICHAEL
ON NEW WIFE’S FUNERAL
SCARED
When he was 12 his mum Jane, 37, and brother Ben, nine, were killed in a car crash on a holiday in South Africa. Michael and his dad Adam were in the car but survived.
“Growing up, I was unsure about letting someone into my life.
“I was scared to lose another person,” he says. “But as soon as I saw Saima I fell in love.”
They quickly became inseparable – and a year later Michael proposed to nursery manager Saima. “It may have seemed quick, but I had no doubt I’d found my soulmate,” he said. “Saima was my best friend. We loved travelling, going out, seeing our circle of friends – building our life together.”
They married at a converted textile mill in Manchester in August 2018 in front of 175 guests – Saima wearing the beautiful white gown she had picked out with the help of her mum and sisters.
“I bawled my eyes out when I saw her in her dress. She looked beautiful,” he says. “We got married under a canopy made from my mum’s wedding dress.”
After a honeymoon in Mauritius, they quickly settled into a blissful married life – but in early December, Saima began to complain of flu-like symptoms. She saw her GP who advised her to rest and take paracetamol.
“All she said was she felt miserable and run down,” says Michael. Saima felt well enough to go into the nursery next day
– but then Michael, who now works in his family’s clothing business, got a call from the nursery. “I raced over. Saima hardly recognised me. She struggled to walk. I had to carry her to the car.
“When we got to A& E, she had seizures. Then her eyes rolled back and she stopped responding. I fell to my knees, crying in the hospital.”
Doctors placed Saima in an induced coma to run tests. A scan revealed her brain was swollen by encephalitis, a condition caused by either infection or the immune system attacking it.
Symptoms include headaches, neck stiffness, drowsiness, confusion, altered personality,