Dale Lockwood returned home to work last year and discovered that his wife, Ruby, had died during his dream. (Image: The real life of the Palestinian Authority)
One of two children who came home to discover his 31-year-old, asymptomatic wife had died during a dream is hoping to raise awareness of the rare and “horrific” condition that destroyed her life without warning.
Dale Lockwood, 33, from Birstall, West Yorkshire, returned home to work as a deputy headteacher at a primary school on October 10, 2023, and found his childhood sweetheart, Ruby, in her bed.
Embora ela was found with her eyes open. Ruby had apparently gone home to sleep after her night shift as a detective with West Yorkshire Police and Del's frantic efforts to revive Paradise.
Dale and Ruby play traps with their children, Arthur and Winifred, in 2020 and 2022. (Image: The real life of the Palestinian Authority)
Since Ruby's death was inconclusive after the post-mortem examination, the family was forced to hold a funeral and cremate her body without knowing how she died.
After further tests, Dale was finally told on August 6 by the cardiology team at Leeds General Hospital that she had a rare genetic heart condition called sudden arrhythmia death syndrome (SADS), a sudden and unexpected death caused by cardiac arrest.
As a genetic condition, Dale now faces the fear that his children Arthur, four, and Winifred, one, may be carriers of the gene.
Despite being trained to talk to his upbringing about mourning, Dale tells Arthur that “my mother died” was the hardest thing he had ever had to do.
Dale said Ruby was a very lively, very energetic character. (Image: The real life of the Palestinian Authority)
He was supported by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) in his search for answers, and in turn raised over £17,000 for the charity, taking part in the AJ Bell Great North Run in Newcastle, a marathon Ruby completed in 2015, not on a Sunday, to raise money for a cause.
“It was terrifying and unexpected that Ruby wasn't sick, she had no symptoms, it was a complete shock and unexpected and at this stage she still can't count,” Dale told PA Real Life.
“In addition to losing your wife, the love of your life, and the mother of your children, you also worry that something might happen to your children.”
Sads, a genetic condition where someone dies suddenly and unexpectedly from cardiac arrest for no apparent reason, affects around 500 people in the UK each year, according to the BHF and Dale hopes to raise awareness of this and ask for more routine tests and scans to pick up underlying problems.
“I'm trying to do what happened with Robbie, I'm trying to do something worthwhile,” Dale said.
“It's about putting out a stronger message to prevent this from happening to anyone else that I wouldn't want to happen to anyone.”
Dale said Ruby was a wonderful mother and wife. (Image: The real life of the Palestinian Authority)
Dale and Ruby met when Tinham was 17, working behind the bar of their local Irish club, with Dale saying “things happened very naturally” and that he “never looked back” when their relationship began.
They are set to marry in 2019, and have two children, Arthur and Winifred, born in 2020 and 2022.
Complete the AJ Bell Great North Run on Sunday (Image: UK)
“Everyone loves Ruby,” Dale said. “She has a strong personality and a strong character that lights up the room.”
“She was a very energetic and lively person, was great at her job and was a wonderful mother and wife.”
On the day of her death, Dale said Ruby came home from work for five hours, and he joined her in the kitchen to “talk, drink some paper and laugh” before they called it a day.
Dale said his wife's last words when he left for his job were: “Amo você, papai.”
Ruby left the kids at the nursery and went home to sleep.
Dale said he always did two things before leaving work, which was flirt with Ruby and say he was going home and going through the files.
He said: “That day between the car, I did not pick up Ruby and I did not go to look for the children, I went straight home.”
“Honestly, I can't say why, I just didn't feel like there was anything wrong at that moment.”
Ruby completed the Great North Run in 2015. (Image: The real life of the Palestinian Authority)
“When I went up the stairs, the door to the room was open and I could see Ruby in bed, which is why I thought something was wrong.”
“Her eyes were open and she was under the covers.”
He tried to revive Ruby, saying that “panic” and “adrenaline” would set in, but the barnacle would “instantly” show that there was nothing he could do.
Emergency service link, ask for the person who searches the files in the nursery and is with Vizinho for about six hours while the police check the building.
He knew, thanks to Robbie's work as a police detective, that his unexplained death would “spur an investigation.”
“I knew it was going to include me, because obviously my husband, and the people I would find, and probably the last person to see her, and all the kids,” she said.
Dale and Ruby got married in 2019. (Image: The real life of the Palestinian Authority)
“I've never been scared, I've just been treated so badly.”
“The best thing that ever happened in my life,” Dale said, was telling the child, who was more than three years old at the time, about Ruby's death.
Dale said Ruby would light up the room. (Image: The real life of the Palestinian Authority)
“Because of my work, the truth is I’ve been trained on how to talk to my kids about grief, but you never expect to do that with your kids,” he said.
“You just need to be really realistic, using the term 'morreu', então 'a mamàe morreu'… No matter how brutal it is, you just need to be open and direct.
“I'm not comparing it to finding Ruby, because that was horrific, but the shock came after that, telling Arthur was just raw and barely resolved emotions.
“Of all the things I've ever done, this one will always be the hardest.”
Dale said Ruby's body examination was initially “inconclusive” because no physical cause of death could be found.
We were sent for additional testing for Ruby's funeral and cremation organised by the family, where Dale said he was “tortured” by the lack of answers.
“I was tortured thinking that we could screw something up or we could save you, but without knowing what it is, you have no answers to this,” he said.
Seven weeks later, Dale said he was initially told Ruby had died of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a genetic disease that causes the heart muscles to thicken, making it difficult to pump blood.
Dale said Robbie's last words to the forum: I love you, Dad. (Image: The real life of the Palestinian Authority)
She was pressed for more information, saying it was “crucial” that the case was brought, because she had been informed only a few weeks earlier, on August 6, that Ruby's death was likely due to a sixth-degree murder, and further tests revealed the cause of death.
“Some signals in Ruby's system weren't working properly and one day they stopped working,” Dale said, adding that there was a 50 percent chance his files would be completed.
Robbie Morrow is 31 years old and has a rare genetic heart disease. (Image: The real life of the Palestinian Authority)
The family will wait about eight months for further genetic testing to see if a “faulty gene” can be found in Ruby's samples, or if that will then allow their children to be tested.
Dale and his loved ones have received over £17,000 from the BHF to take part in numerous marathons and challenges throughout the year, with Dale taking part in the AJ Bell Great North Run in Newcastle on Sunday.
Del and Robbie met when Tenham was seventeen, working behind the bar at their local Irish club. (Image: The real life of the Palestinian Authority)
“The Linha de Chegada crossing was fun so I stopped for five minutes and the adrenaline stopped, and then I realized why I was doing it,” said Dale.
“I have a lot of things for Ruby with me… In fact, I've been hearing about Ruby's candidacy since 2015 and I don't have any pulse to inspire me.”
“Ruby has spent her career helping people and has been completely altruistic.”
“If you share things and save money, it makes a difference to a person or a family, that's enough.”
You can find Dale's JustGiving page at: justgiving.com/page/dale-lockwood-1704832560383.
To find out more about SADS, visit the British Heart Foundation website at: bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/conditions/sads.
