Holly Willoughby broke down as sepsis campaigner Melissa Mead spoke about her child tragically passing away from the illness.
The mum-of-three was brought to tears earlier today after her guest recalled how much her young son William had achieved in his 12 months, declaring: "I'm so proud he chose me to be his mum."
The appearance comes just days after Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt publicly apologised to the family at a memorial service for William.
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Hunt admitted that the NHS and Government had 'let her down'.
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The 36-year-old TV presenter was left so emotional over the chat with Melissa that co-host Phillip Schofield took over the transition into the next segment of the show.
Melissa is a tireless campaigner around sepsis, aiming to raise public awareness of the condition that takes hold of multiple organs with harmful bacteria.
Talking to Holly and Phil, she recalled not knowing what sepsis was, as she said: "I thought that must be rare, we didn't know what it is. We saw it's the UK's second biggest killer. We were dumbfounded."
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Remembering William, she added: "I'm honoured to call him my son. I'm incredibly proud of what we've been able to achieve in his name.
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"I don't think there are many parents that can say that about their children."
Melissa revealed she took William to the GP several times in seven weeks due to a nasty cough, and each time they were told it was a viral infection, despite more symptoms emerging.
"Two days before he died he got a high fever and we took him to an emergency doctor, and we were sent home. We didn't find out until after William died that the examination fell below standard," she said.
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Watch the video here...
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The family eventually saw several more doctors, all of whom deemed his condition 'non-urgent'.
"Within a few hours of speaking to the last doctor, who told us to keep him in bed as that was the best place for him, I went in to check on him and he had passed away," Melissa revealed.
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Melissa revealed William's symptoms included no urine output, high and low temperatures, vomiting, floppiness, and a rash.
Following the appearance, Melissa took to her Twitter account to share a picture of with co-hosts Holly and Phil.
"Today @Schofe & @hollywills helped me share the importance of #sepsis awareness, ty @thismorning for having William and I on (heart emoji)," she captioned the image.
Let's hope this helps to raise awareness.
Featured Image Credit: Credit: ITV / This MorningTopics: Holly Willoughby, Phillip Schofield
