Couple’s ‘amazing’ dream Thailand holiday ends in death of NHS worker husband

Gill Dunn described the “bureaucratic nightmare” she endured to repatriate her husband Paul, who passed away on their retirement getaway

A woman suffered a “bureaucratic nightmare” after her husband died as their dream holiday in Thailand ended in tragedy. Gill Dunn, 69, was eager to celebrate Paul’s 20-plus years of service in the NHS by going on a two-week adventure – an “amazing” experience in which they enjoyed elephant sightings, temple visits and rickshaw rides.

However, disaster struck only two hours into their return flight when Paul, 66, had a stroke, prompting an emergency landing in Delhi. Despite receiving hospital care, Paul’s condition deteriorated and he died on March 5 after two gruelling weeks in intensive care.

Gill, a Citizens Advice volunteer adviser from Leicester, faced further distress when she was forced to carry Paul’s cremated remains home in her rucksack following his “brutal” cremation. Her ordeal consisted of navigating a labyrinth of red tape, contacting various agencies and government departments before her exit from Delhi was granted, reports Leicestershire Live.

“Our dream holiday ended in a bureaucratic nightmare,” she said. “He had wonderful hospital care but the rest of it was not ideal. I had a lot of conflicting information, it was like being in a maze.

“I can’t tell you the relief it was to leave India. Every day there was this knife in the back of bureaucracy. By the time we had his remains and knew we could fly home was a relief.

“It was this relief of coming home and knowing we could do things properly. I wanted to be home to lay my husband to rest the way he deserved.”

Paul, who had retired from his role as a director of transplant laboratory services at Leicester Hospital in November 2023, jetted off his wife Gill to Thailand on February 3 this year.

Recalling their trip, Gill remarked: “My husband was invited to a talk in Bangkok with his old colleagues. After that, we spent two weeks in Thailand to celebrate his retirement.

“We saw elephants, we visited the most amazing temples and had a ride in a rickshaw going around an old city. We did a great variety of things, the people were lovely, they are really kind and gentle people.”

Following their idyllic two weeks, the couple returned to Bangkok before heading back to the UK. On February 21, Paul suffered a stroke on a Thai Airways flight. Gill recounted the harrowing experience, saying: “They called for everyone to help, and a GP and A&E nurse came to help.”

When they got to the hospital, Gill faced the prospect of being without accommodation until a compassionate nurse offered her a room adjacent to Paul’s. Their son Matthew, accompanied by his partner Amy, arrived swiftly and secured Gill a nearby place to stay.

After a gruelling battle in intensive care, Paul sadly passed away. Gill said: “Firstly the doctors thought Paul was doing OK. My son and his fiancée arrived on the Monday. Luckily, they were able to say goodbye to him because he started to get worse before he passed away.”

After the devastating loss of Paul, Gill and her family faced a harrowing experience, which she recounted: “We had to go in this awful hearse ambulance with Paul’s body in the back. We ended up at a cremation site. He was shoved on some logs and put in an oven.”

Gill described the three weeks she spent in Delhi as a nightmare of red tape and bureaucracy. Upon arrival, she was granted an emergency visa but was immediately instructed to apply for an exit visa instead.

She also had to obtain permission from both the police and the immigration office to bring her husband back to the UK because, according to officials, she needed a cremation certificate and a death certificate. Gill explained: “I had to go to the police station to get permission to get home. I then went to the British Embassy, who didn’t offer me any help. They sent me an email telling me how to repatriate someone, with a list of funeral directors.”

Gill finally received the exit visa on March 7 – two days after Paul’s death – allowing her to leave India with Matthew, Amy and Paul. “By the Friday night we got the remains back and all these other certificates saying we could leave,” she said. “We knew we could finally get home – I had to carry Paul’s ashes home in a rucksack.”

Gill and Paul were together for 42 years and married for 31 of them. She said Paul was a “gentleman” who loved the countryside.

“Everyone keeps saying what a gentleman he was,” she said of her late husband. “He was a quiet man who was full of kindness and compassion.

“He wasn’t someone who would be in charge of the party, but he was someone that everyone loved. Paul was known for his lovely, quiet sense of humour and a twinkle in his eye.”