British Family Works to Bring Body of 74-Year-Old Father Home After He Died During Trip to Hawaii
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A family is England is working to bring the body of their beloved family member home after he collapsed and died during a vacation in Hawaii.
"I spoke to my parents and said to just take it easy on holiday and not exert themselves so they wouldn't break a leg or sprain an ankle," Dale Thompson told The Evening Chronicle following the death of his 74-year-old father, John Thompson.
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"Dad has always had health issues but nobody was expecting this to happen," he added.
According to The Evening Chronicle, John was visiting Honolulu with his wife, Eileen, and collapsed as they ate dinner on the seventh night of their trip. He was later transported to a local hospital after paramedics could not revive him, and he was pronounced dead.
"Yesterday I lost my soul mate, my best friend in the world - words can't describe my feelings I loved you so much John xx can't believe I'm coming home without you," Eileen wrote in a Facebook post alongside pictures of the couple, who were married for 35 years.
While details surrounding John's cause of his death have not been released, Dale explained that issues behind his parents travel insurance have made bringing his dad's body back to the U.K. difficult.
"On the day of travel, my dad must have noticed there was something not right with the insurance once they were through customs," Dale told The Evening Chronicle, adding that their insurance stated they only needed three days of coverage.
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"The insurance company wanted an additional £850 [approximately $1,000] so they asked for a refund and raised a complaint with the insurance company. They said they would get insurance with someone else but the company said they wouldn't be able to as they were now through customs," he continued.
To help cover medical a £30,000 (over $36,000) medical bill and £5,000 (approximately $6,000) in funeral costs to get John cremated and returned to their home, a GoFundMe campaign has been created.
The organizer of the GoFundMe also hopes to donate a portion of proceeds to the Visitor Aloha Society of Hawaii, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping travelers who are "victims of a crime or other adversities," that assisted Eileen amid John's death, according to the campaign.
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As of Tuesday night, the campaign has raised £2,500 (just over $3,000) of its £5,000 goal.
A celebration of life has been set for April 28, with Dale telling the Birmingham Mail that they hope to bring his father's body back within the next four to six weeks.
