Louis wanted to be a teacher, a teacher of young children. He was good with them, seeing his younger self and recognizing the struggles he had had at school. He wanted to reach out and help them because Louis had a good heart.
He had been a natural footballer in his younger years, with a strong left foot. So talented that at the age of seven he was spotted by his local team Arsenal. Playing at their Academy at the old Highbury Ground.
He continued his love of football to the present day and would amaze us with his ‘very interesting’ knowledge, being able to tell us who played goal for Outer Mongolia!
Louis moved to St Annes on Sea where after a false start he revisited his love of sport by beginning a Foundation Degree at the University of South Wales based at Blackpool Football Club. He was known here for his dedication and pride in being involved with the Community Trust, with whom he did many hours of volunteering in local schools as part of the Premier League Primary Stars programme. He had found his vocation
Before following his ambition to train as a teacher he took some time out and moved in with his father, step mother and little sister in Harlington, Bedfordshire. Getting a part time job as a Barista in Starbucks in Center Parcs, allowing him to save up for his move back up to St Annes for his training.
Louis would have made a wonderful teacher.
During lockdown Louis was furloughed from his job spending more time at home and on line, meaning he became less active than usual.
He started to complain about a pain in his leg, which we all took to be muscular. This carried on for a few days and was treated with various exercises, elevation and ice.
After a takeaway he had an upset stomach and then collapsed. 111 was called and food poisoning was diagnosed, the pain in his leg being nothing to worry about.
He had a follow up conversation with a GP and was once again told he had food poisoning and that his sore leg was nothing.
A week later he collapsed again. Stanley called 999 then his mother Lesley, who stayed on the phone throughout the ordeal. The ambulance arrived and it was thought that he had had a panic attack, oxygen was given and Stanley and Lesley were told there was nothing to worry about.
Louis was sitting on his bed whilst the medics tried to calm him. Suddenly we heard a paramedic say his heart rate was dropping. Stanley saw him flop onto his bed, the paramedics got him onto the floor; he had gone into cardiac arrest.
Two more ambulances arrived and the air ambulance. They worked on him for an hour but to no avail it was already too late.
Louis died on his bedroom floor in the early hours of 3rd June 2020; he was twenty-four years old.
The pain in his leg wasn’t muscular it was DVT. When he collapsed the previous week it wasn’t food poisoning.
Louis died of a Venous Thromboembolism; he was a fit young man with his whole life ahead of him and children to teach.
We have started a campaign to try to bring awareness of DVT especially but not exclusively in the young and the fit like Louis.