Following on from Liam Walsh's pre-Wembley interviews in which he discussed the heartbreaking baby loss that he and his partner Missy Bo Kearns have experienced during pregnancy, the Aston Villa Women and England international has bravely spoken about their "septic miscarriage".
Earlier this month, Liam spoke to Sky Sports News, BBC Radio Five Live's 72+ podcast, local media and LTFC+'s Joe Flemons about how overwhelmed he and Missy Bo had been by the support shown by fans, team-mates and staff at both Luton Town and Villa, who Missy Bo joined from Liverpool Women in 2024.
Liam, who has been in outstanding form for the Hatters in the recent run that has seen us lose just once in 16 matches and win the Vertu Trophy, was determined to speak on both his and his partner's behalf, and you can watch and listen to those interviews again HERE.
Now Missy Bo has revealed that Aston Villa Women club sports doctor Jodie Blackadder-Weinstein in all likelihood saved her life by insisting she call Liam, who was at their Midlands home the morning after playing in our 3-2 win over Exeter last month, to take her to hospital after experiencing temperatures of 42 degrees.
“It was one of the biggest shocks of my life," Missy Bo told ITV News. "I thought it was just like a pregnancy symptom, and the doctor came in and checked my temperature.
“I was 42 degrees, but I was shaking. And the doctor said to me, ‘Where's Liam?’ And I was like, ‘I'm not going back to the hospital. I literally went a few days ago. Everything's fine. They told me everything's fine.’ And she said, ‘Ring Liam.’ And I was like, ‘He's had a night game. He's in bed still.’
“But I rang him, and he came. We went to the hospital, and that's when we found out that straight away, we had lost the baby and that I'd got sepsis.
“So, it was difficult, like it was a shock, because I'd literally been doing Pilates and gym an hour before, and my whole life just changed like that.”
Like Liam, Missy Bo continually thanks Aston Villa, England, Luton Town, their team-mates, their families, but also strangers who have offered their support and best wishes in person and online.
“You actually feel like you're the only person it's ever happened to," she says. "But really, it's so common, and that's why I think it's important that the message is out there and don't feel alone and stuff, because it's happened to so many people.
“I think people might not realise how much of a toll it actually has on someone. I think obviously everyone knows how hard it must be to lose a child, but obviously, because of the highs of finding out you're pregnant, and the stress of being pregnant, and like, the worries of getting past the 12-week mark, and like, it's so stressful, even though it's so exciting.
“I think to then have that crash, and then suddenly you're not pregnant, and your hormones change, your symptoms start to go, like overnight. I think it's a different type of grief. It's not [something] that I've ever experienced before…
“I just think everyone obviously grieves differently. I think a lot of people, if someone's going through a miscarriage, they don't know. “People don't tell people that they've been through it. They suffer in silence. And I just hope that people may not suffer in silence now, knowing that, like I'm here, if anyone wants to speak, there are charities like Tommy's, so many other charities that, if anyone needs them, have reached out to me for support.”
As with Liam, we are so proud of Missy Bo for sharing such an important message to men and women around the world who may be experiencing what they have gone through in recent weeks.
If you are, and would like more information and help, please visit Tommy's.
