SERVING up dinner for her family, Rhian Mannings didn’t know it would be the last time they would all be together.
Within five days the mum-of-three would be planning the funeral of her baby son and her loving husband of six years.
One-year-old George had been playing with his toys when he suffered a fit at their home in Miskin, South Wales, and died.
His doting father Paul Burke struggled to cope with the sudden loss and fell to his death from a motorway bridge five days later.
The 41-year-old has opened up about “hitting rock bottom” after the double tragedy in 2012 as part of The Sun’s You’re Not Alone campaign, which aims to break down the stigma of mental health.
Speaking to The Sun, Rhian said: “It was normal day at home. George was laughing and crawling around.
“He seemed absolutely fine and had just eaten his dinner when he fell over quite suddenly and didn’t move.
He never regained consciousness and passed away within a couple of hours
Rhian Mannings
“Then he started fitting and we couldn’t stop him.
“We called for an ambulance and he was taken to hospital but he never regained consciousness and passed away within a couple of hours.
“They let us spend a bit of time with him but then we had to go home and leave him.”
She said that following George’s death – a few days after his first birthday – the couple were sent away from the hospital without any support.
The former PE teacher added: “As a family we were literally just left the hospital to go home to George’s birthday cards, which were still on the mantelpiece.
“We had no support, no one asked us if we needed help. We had to make contact, people said they’d ring us back and then they didn’t.
“Five days later, my husband killed himself.”
It was only four months later, at George’s post-mortem examination, she discovered the youngster had contracted pneumonia and a form a swine flu.
Rhian said that in the days after George’s death, there was nothing to indicate that Paul would end his own life.
They had been making funeral arrangements for George and had spoken about things in the future together.
But he took the car along the M4 and fell from a bridge.
She said: “Paul was such a wonderful man. He was such a traditional man, who wanted to protect us and he felt he had let us down.
“He never displayed any signs of mental stress or illness.
“He provided for us, we spoke about everything and we were very close.
“But he felt like she should’ve been able to save George’s life.”
There was no way on earth that I thought this could’ve ended how it did
Rhian Mannings
Later, a coroner would record a verdict of accidental death – not suicide – because Paul was suffering Post Traumatic Stress Disorder over George’s death.
Rhian added: “I feel lucky to know the reason it happened was he was traumatised.
“But the fact there was no support… there should have been that help for him.
“There was no way on earth that I thought this could’ve ended how it did.”
She said that she believes Paul, who worked in sales for a surgical company, would still be here if he had been given the right support.
Rhian says she too “hit rock bottom” as she was suddenly faced with planning a funeral for both her loving husband and son.
“I didn’t want to leave the house. I was worried about things happening. I wouldn’t open the front door,” she said.
“I kept burying it and one day a few years later it hit me and I hit rock bottom.
EVERY 90 minutes in the UK a life is lost – to suicide.
It doesn’t discriminate, touching the lives of people in every corner of society – from the homeless and unemployed to builders and doctors, reality stars and footballers.
It’s the biggest killer of people under the age of 35, more deadly than cancer and car crashes. And men are three times more likely to take their own life than women.
Yet, it’s rarely spoken of, a taboo that threatens to continue its deadly rampage unless we all stop and take notice, now.
That is why The Sun has launched the You’re Not Alone campaign. To remind anyone facing a tough time, grappling with mental illness or feeling like there’s nowhere left to turn, that there is hope.
We share the stories of brave survivors, relatives left behind, heroic Good Samaritans – and tips from mental health experts.
The aim is that by sharing practical advice, raising awareness and breaking down the barriers people face when talking about their mental health, we can all do our bit to help save lives.
Let’s all vow to ask for help when we need it, and listen out for others.
You’re Not Alone.
For a list of support organisations, see box below.
“I hated myself, I blamed myself a lot. I just think, I just couldn’t carry on the way I was going.
“People tell you when you’re grieving you cry, but i found that the easy part. It’s when you don’t recognise yourself in the mirror.”
Rhian eventually went to see her GP and started getting the help she needed and began learning to grieve.
She said: “I’ve got an incredible family and friends and i’m standing today because of them – no one professional.
“I went back to work soon after but realised it wasn’t what I wanted to do anymore.”
Instead she decided to use her own tragic experience to help other families devastated by grief and set up her own charity 2 Wish Upon A Star.
The charity provides bereavement support for families in Wales who have suddenly and traumatically lost a child or young adult aged 25 years and under.
“I threw myself into that. I was doing it for Paul and George and I became quite obsessed in a way,” she said.
There’s a misconception that I’m over it, but not a day goes by where I don’t have a cry
Rhian Mannings
“But when the boys died I realised the ripple effect death has on other people.
“So we support anyone that loses a child, whether that’s parents, siblings or even emergency services staff.
“I’m really proud of what we do and I know it’s helping in my boys’ memory.”
Last April, Rhian remarried after finding love again with one of the charity’s volunteers Craig Mannings.
She said: “There’s a misconception that I’m over it, but not a day goes by where I don’t have a cry.
“I’ve met a man who is happy to help me on the journey.
If you, or anyone you know, needs help dealing with mental health problems, the following organisations provide support:
“He’s not threatened by Paul, he is very much part of our family – he accepts that – we are just a different family.”
Rhian is running this year’s London Marathon to raise awareness of her charity after completing the gruelling 26.2miles in 2017 as part of the Heads Together team supported by Prince Harry and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
She was comforted by Prince William at the time as he revealed it was his mother’s death that prompted him to talk about mental illness.
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