Warwick Davis’ family gathered by his wife’s hospital bed as she battled life-threatening infection

Warwick Davis has revealed he stayed beside his wife’s hospital bed alongside his family as she battled a life-threatening infection. 

The Tenable star, 52, tried to remain positive when his wife of 21 years Sam was rushed to the emergency room with a mystery illness, which was later diagnosed as sepsis. 

He told The Sun: ‘The next few hours were the longest of my life as I waited on the ward with our children in the empty space left by Sam’s hospital bed. I hoped it would not symbolise a future for us without her.’

The mother-of-two fell ill ahead of a 2019 family caravan holiday but convinced herself the symptoms were caused by stress from preparing for the trip.

When her exhaustion led to her not being able to stand without support, Warwick called an out-of-hours doctor.  

He continued: ‘Our family gathered by her bedside; although optimistic, we were sort of saying goodbye in case Sam didn’t survive.’

‘It’s so hard to see someone you love more than anything in the world fighting to stay alive without the strength to even roll over in bed.

Tragic: The Tenable star, 52, tried to remain positive when his wife of 21 years Sam was rushed to the emergency room with a mystery illness, which was later diagnosed as sepsis

Family: The happy couple share son Harrison and daughter Samantha. Both have inherited their father’s condition (pictured in 2019)

The infection causes the body’s immune system to go into overdrive and attack tissues and organs, which can be lethal and lead to amputations.

Nearly 250,000 Brits are diagnosed with sepsis every year, of which 48,000 die and 40 per cent are left with life-altering disabilities and symptoms.

Doctors examined Sam and quickly became concerned about a scar on her back from a recent spinal surgery that was ‘inflamed with fluid, red, and hot to touch’.

Tests came back showing Sam had a deadly Streptococcus bacteria and meningitis infection, meaning she needed emergency surgery. 

Sam managed to pull through and once discharged from hospital, Warwick nursed her back to full health for three months. 

Sammy has a form of dwarfism called achondroplasia while Harry Potter star Warwick was born with an extremely rare condition called spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita (SED), where the bone endings fail to form. It meant he never grew taller than 3ft 6in.

The happy couple share son Harrison and daughter Samantha.

Both have inherited their father’s condition and are aspiring actors, having appeared in Harry Potter.

Warwick and Sammy lost two of their children when they were babies and the star opened up about the tragedy in 2018 when he appeared on Bear Grylls.

Their first children Lloyd and George inherited two forms of dwarfism from their parents, which proved fatal to the babies.

He said: ‘Prior to Annabelle and Harrison we had a baby boy, Lloyd, who inherited both our conditions… and that is something that proves fatal.

‘It’s something that a baby won’t survive. But Lloyd he survived for nine days, but yeah he was beautiful… but it was a tough time. And yeah, we had a stillborn too.’

The star said he and his wife had made it through the painful time together, saying: ‘That kind of stuff it just makes you stronger [as a couple].’

Brave: The star said he and his wife had made it through the painful time together, saying: ‘That kind of stuff it just makes you stronger [as a couple]’ (pictured in 2018)