AN inspirational nurse who lost her legs and arm to sepsis took her own life after she “lost her courage” during the coronavirus pandemic, her heartbroken husband said today.
Jayne Carpenter, 53, from Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, was in constant pain from her false limbs and knew she would never get better.
She was hoping to get her old life back through pioneering private surgery but only £23,000 of the £265,000 was raised.
Jayne’s husband Rob, 56, revealed how she ran out of courage and positivity after coronavirus struck.
He told Trending In The News: “Jayne loved to keep fit – dancing was her life. Although she was in great pain she was able to do that with her friends at the gym.
“She made new friends – they would meet for drinks and coffee but all that stopped and she’s had a very difficult 12 months.
“Covid was the tipping point, she was very down because she couldn’t dance and socialise and do the things that kept her going.”
‘TIPPNG POINT’
Jayne called Rob at work on December 7 to ask him to pick their beloved Weimeraner dog Harriet up from kennels because she had a doctor’s appointment for one of her legs which was puffy and swollen.
Rob came home that night to find his beloved wife dead at their quaint cottage. He is glad she didn’t leave a note.
He said: “That would have been too much to bear. I miss her terribly. You don’t think it’s real to start with.
“We were together for 29 years and all of a sudden she’s not there. There is still disbelief.”
Rob put a message out on Facebook saying: “The Brightest star in my sky has burnt out.”
An inquest was opened this week but coroner Rachel Knight adjourned the hearing in Pontypridd until February 2022.
Hospital nurse Jayne lost her limbs more than four years ago after a simple cough turned into deadly sepsis.
After coming around from nine weeks in a coma she asked Rob: “Why did you let me live?”
Jayne lost her left arm below the elbow, both legs and four fingers of her right hand.
She also offered her husband of 22 years the chance to walk away but he told her: “I married you not for your arms or legs but because I love you”.
Jayne dreamed of having groundbreaking osseointegration surgery where a prosthetic limb would be attached to her remaining bone.
The couple went to a specialist private centre near Bournemouth where they were shown an artificial silicone leg that looked real.
‘I LOVE YOU’
Self-employed plasterer Rob said: “It was remarkable. They match it to a patient’s skin tone and paint on veins and freckles.
“For a woman like Jayne, who was feminine, smart and attractive, it would have been huge for her. And it would have given her more mobility.
“But each custom-made leg costs up to £30,000 and they were worried the sideways movement of her dancing would loosen the joint.”
The surgery is not available on the NHS so Jayne launched a GoFundMe Page in the hope the surgery would go ahead.
Jayne put up with her NHS prosthetic legs but was constantly on antibiotics for infections and strong painkillers for the nerve pain she endured.
