England international Missy Bo Kearns says she spent "four days of hell in hospital" after suffering a miscarriage and contracting sepsis.
Aston Villa midfielder Kearns and partner Liam Walsh, who plays for Luton, shared news of her pregnancy on 1 March, but she lost the baby later that month.
Kearns, speaking to ITV News, said she felt unwell at Villa's Bodymoor Heath training ground on 18 March and sought advice from Jodie Blackadder-Weinstein, the club's sports doctor.
"It was one of the biggest shocks of my life," Kearns said.
"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.
"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 a shock, because I'd literally been doing pilates and gym an hour before, and my whole life just changed like that."
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'They probably saved my life'
Kearns said she was grateful to Dr Blackadder-Weinstein for urging her to go to the hospital.
Sepsis, which can be life-threatening and is difficult to spot, is an emergency reaction to infection where the immune system overcompensates and damages tissues and organs.
"We had to go through like, three, four days of hell in hospital, the two of us, up in Birmingham and, I don't think we realized how much we went through until now," Kearns said.
"I'm so thankful for the doctors here at Villa, because if I was at home that day, and I probably would have rung my mum saying, 'Oh, I feel a bit like flu-ish symptoms', everyone would just say, 'Have a sleep' or whatnot, but Jodie made me go to the hospital.
"I was not wanting to go, because there's nothing worse than obviously going to a hospital, but they probably saved my life because I had sepsis, and while having that, I wasn't even thinking about the sepsis. It was: I've lost my child – and Liam was probably thinking the same."
Kearns has visited Villa's training ground to see her team-mates and work on rebuilding her fitness, but said she is still dealing with the mental trauma.
"I wouldn't say I'm fully coping," Kearns said.
"There's days like today where I feel good, I've been in and around the [Aston Villa] girls and stuff, I've done my bike, I've done my testing, like, ready to get back on to it.
"But yesterday, I was upset all day because I got some news about the things we have to sort and it just comes and goes in waves."
Kearns recognises that everyone deals with grief differently but stressed the importance of not "suffering in silence".
She highlighted Tommy's – the UK's largest pregnancy and baby loss charity – as an important resource to lean on.
Kearns retains World Cup hope
Kearns, who began her career with Liverpool before joining Villa in 2024, needs time to rebuild her fitness and does not expect to play again until next season.
The three-cap England international was targeting a place with the Lionesses at next year's World Cup in Brazil and still has that goal in her sights.
"Football is my happy place, and I'm here now, and I'm excited to be here and keep trying to build and build and get myself right ready for next season," Kearns said.
"It's a big year next year, and my plan while I was pregnant was to make the World Cup squad, and that's not changed, so the next few months is getting myself physically, mentally strong, ready for a big season, and to try and make the World Cup squad.
"I've realised, like there's more to life than football, but now I'm going to enjoy every minute of football like it's my last because it could have been."
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