A grieving dad has paid a moving tribute after the sudden death of his fiancée and their unborn son. Paige Ellis died on July 23 at her Barry home following an epileptic seizure in her bed. She was due to give birth to Harri three months later.
The 28-year-old was engaged to Dan Dredge, 29, and they had a two-year-old son called Jax. "Paige was loved by everyone and she put everyone before herself," said Dan. "It doesn't feel real. I have never felt like this.
"Paige suffered with full-body epileptic seizures which came on with no warning. She would have a seizure and just collapse and normally they would last for three minutes. If she fell we would take her to hospital but if she didn't we usually wouldn't go. It could happen at any time. In a good year she would have two or three but sometimes she would have two or three in a day. Because she was pregnant she was on new medication. When she was pregnant with Jax she only had one seizure in her whole pregnancy but with Harri she had two in her last two weeks.
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"It was just a normal Saturday. She had taken our son out to spend time with family. She put our son to bed at about 7pm and then she got into bed at about 7.15pm. I don't think she was going to sleep. I think she was putting her phone on charge and sorting stuff out to get ready for bed.
"She had a seizure in bed. I texted her at about 8pm to see if she wanted some food then I went up to check on her at about 10 past. I thought it was just another seizure but she didn't come around."
Dan called paramedics who pronounced Paige dead at the scene. "It still feels like a dream," he said. "She had so much ahead of her."
He said Paige had known her epilepsy posed a danger but her concern was always for her family. "She would come round with her head hurting and it would normally take her a day or two to get back to her normal self. She was mainly worried about what other people went through with it. That's what she was like."
The full-time mum was born and bred in Barry, attending Bryn Hafren Comprehensive. She and Dan had been together for just over five years after meeting through his cousin Sammi.
"She was a friend of my cousin and we met when she was down at Sammi's house," said Dan. "She was very funny. I liked her humour and she was beautiful.
"All she cared about was her family. She would take Jax to see family every day. Jax is three in December and I think she only spent two nights away from him.
"When she first had Jax she knew what to do with him straight away — how to burp him, how to bathe him, how to do everything. It was like she'd had 10 kids before she had Jax. I think it was because she had grown up very family-oriented and always helped with her three nephews every day. She was just a mother.
"Jax idolised Paige and he was her whole world. Her idea of a fun night out was to take him out for a family night. She would take him to Central Park in Barry where he likes the swings and he'll have you pushing him for an hour. She liked taking him to Barry Island."
Dan proposed to Paige on Christmas Day last year. They were opening presents when he got down on one knee and she immediately said yes.
"We were like best friends. We didn't really do the soppy stuff," he said. "I didn't feel awkward and she didn't feel awkward. We didn't have a date in mind for the wedding because Harri was coming along and that pushed it back a bit."
It was Paige's idea for Harri — who was due to be born on October 5 — to have his name spelled with an 'i' rather than a 'y'. Dan said: "I told her Harri with an 'i' is the way girls spell it, like Harriet, but she didn't care." He laughed: "She would win every argument."
Paige's sister-in-law Samantha Matthews has started a fundraiser to give "the most fun-loving, kind person the best send-off possible and hopefully a fund for Jax to grow up with". Some £5,299 has already been donated towards the £10,000 target.
Dan said he has received huge support from family and friends. "Every time the phone goes off it's a reminder but it is nice to see how many people loved Paige," he added. "People have been coming and paying their respects and having a cry with us. Without all the people who love Paige and Jax it would have been even harder to deal with the grief but we've had people here every day showing their support."
The donations have "taken so much stress away" from Dan, helping him cover funeral costs and make plans to move to a new home. "We don't want to live in the same house anymore," he said. "I want a fresh start for Jax. Paige will be buried in Barry Cemetery and we will be staying in Barry so we can go and see her."
Paige's loved ones are invited to attend her funeral at 10.15am on Friday, August 5, at the Cardiff and Glamorgan Memorial Park and Crematorium. You can donate to the fundraiser here.
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