27 April 2023 , 21:45
1133
0
A promising young vet died during a tropical storm in Colombia days after his drink was spiked with cocaine, an inquest has heard.
Thomas Arthur had been hiking with his partner Carolyn in Tayrona National Park when the pair got lost before he collapsed, she told the hearing.
Terrified Carolyn, who met Mr Arthur through a vet's practice in Aberdeen, put him into a recovery position before going to get help from a nearby hostel - only for a tropical storm to hit.
Mr Arthur grew up in Kirton Lindsey, Lincolnshire, before studying veterinary science in London, then moving to Scotland where he met his wife-to-be.
After meeting in Aberdeen in 2015, the pair re-located to Edinburgh and travelled to the South American country in late 2019.
Mum's heartbreak as 'best pal' daughter dies days after 'boozy birthday lunch'
Thomas Arthur went into cardiac arrest during a hike with wife Carolyn (Ben Lack Photography Ltd)Tragically, whilst out hiking in the National Park on October 19 that year, Thomas came into difficulty and collapsed part way through before dying on nearby Brava Beach around 40 minutes later.
An inquest held at Cleethorpes Town Hall heard how the pair had taken a number of wrong turns during their hike, Grimsby Live reports, causing them to walk for longer than expected.
Tragically during the hike, Thomas suffered cardiac arrest before the dire situation became even graver when the storm hit, which meant there was no way for a helicopter or boat to reach him in time to urgent medical help.
Despite Carolyn giving him CPR for a number of minutes, his heart could not be restarted and Thomas tragically died.
A post mortem revealed that Thomas had traces of cocaine in his bloodstream at the time of his death that may have contributed to the sudden heart failure.
Carolyn told the coroner's court that she had no idea that Thomas had taken cocaine, and said it may have been in the drinks they had whilst at a music festival a couple of days before his death.
In tribute, Carolyn said: "Thomas enjoyed watching movies and loved board games.
"He lived in London whilst studying to become a vet and then moved to Aberdeen where he got his first job where we met in August 2015. We then moved to Edinburgh in March 2016."
Speaking about his personality, Carolyn painted Thomas to be a warm, loving character who lived for his job.
"He was kind, caring, compassionate and welcoming. He would do anything for anyone."
'Disabled people are too often falling off the radar and it's costing lives'
Recalling the day he died, she said they had got to the national park for what was meant to be a half an hour hike.
"We went to Santa Marta and started our hike, but got lost.
"We'd taken a wrong turn and ended up on an area that was hard walking and Thomas had become breathless.
"After more walking, he was in a bad way and we thought at first he had heat exhaustion. We were trying to make it to a hostel to get help when he collapsed."
Carolyn spoke of her shock to learn of the traces of the drug in Thomas' system, adding that if he had taking any he was "keeping it a secret" from her.
In her final words, she said: "Tom will be remembered for his kindness and compassion."
Reaching a narrative verdict on Thomas' death, coroner Marianne Johnson said: "Thomas trained and worked as a vet and was kind, caring and loving to his patients.
"Whilst hiking in Colombia, he and his wife had taken a wrong turn so the walk had gone on for longer than they thought.
"By the time they got to the beach he had suffered from heat exhaustion and collapsed when his wife put him in the recovery position.
"Both oxygen and CPR were unsuccessful and he passed away.
"We've been shown his death was an acute heart attack, linked to acute cardiac failure.
"The cocaine in his system is believed to be a possible cause of sudden death because of what it does to the heart.
"Mrs Arthur was not aware and shocked to hear this. She suggested they may have been exposed to it at a music festival they'd been to."