A woman has shared how a devastating phone call she received on the day of her sister’s wedding would go on to change her life forever.
Kaitlyn Booth, 27, woke up on 12 August last year to get ready for her sister’s big day, but immediately realised that something was wrong when she saw a wave of notifications on her phone.
Her boyfriend Jack Jermy-Doyle, 25, had allegedly been assaulted in Preston, Lancashire, and was rushed to hospital, where he had to be put on a ventilator.
Advert
Sadly, he died two days later.
Booth, a dental nurse from Burnley, recalled: “I woke up at about 5:30am on August 12th to start getting ready for my sister's big day and I had lots of notifications saying something had happened to Jack.
“The signal was terrible but I finally managed to get a hold of his sister, Leanne, who told me that doctors were saying Jack had irreversible brain damage.
Advert
“My dad drove me over to Preston hospital and when we arrived, we had to sit in A+E and wait for a nurse to come and take me down.
"The nurse came over and explained the extent of the damage and told us that there was absolutely no way Jack would survive this and it would only be a matter of time before his heart stopped beating.
“I just remember breaking down but trying so hard not to because in my head there was still hope.
Advert
"I didn’t want to accept it.
“After visiting Jack, me and dad made our way back to the rest of the family to support my sister at her wedding.
"It was the most difficult thing I’ve ever had to do, trying to smile through such horrific pain.”
Two men from Preston, aged 21 and 28, were arrested on suspicion of Section 18 wounding, but were released on bail as enquiries continued.
Advert
A spokesperson for Lancashire police said: "Two men - aged 21 and 28 from Preston – previously arrested on suspicion of Section 18 wounding were re-arrested on August 24 on suspicion of murder, assault and Public Order Act offences.
"They have since been released on bail pending further enquiries.
"Anyone with information which could assist our enquiries should call 101 quoting log 0161 of August 12, 2022."
Advert
Booth said those were arrested were completely unknown to her and Jermy-Doyle, believing it was a completely unprovoked attack.
She is now raising money for One Punch UK, a charity aiming awareness of the damage a single punch can do, by taking part in a Tough Mudder race on 12 August this year – the anniversary of her partner’s death.
She continued: “This is something that we wanted to do together but sadly never can.
“My goal is to raise money for the charity One Punch UK but most importantly I want to raise awareness of the severity that one punch can do. So please, if you can’t donate, share and help raise awareness."
Paying tribute to her boyfriend, Booth added: “I loved being around Jack, he was funny, kind, ambitious, so very friendly and just loved life.”
You can donate to Booth’s GoFundMe campaign here.
Topics: UK News
Jess Hardiman