Travelling with family is something that many of us look forward to. However, what was meant to be the trip of a lifetime for this family quickly took a dark turn.
A family from Singapore had been planning their first trip to Europe together for 2.5 years. They left for their trip on 16 Feb and were planning to return on 1 Mar.
Source: Shin Min Daily News
However, tragedy struck when their 60-year-old father suffered a cardiac arrest on 26 Feb.
Unfortunately, he passed away on 4 Mar.
According to Shin Min Daily News, the father, surnamed Hu, was strolling along the streets of Zurich in Switzerland with his family on 26 Feb when he suddenly fell to the ground.
Mr Hu’s youngest son recounted that his father was still breathing, and he could feel his pulse. However, the elder Mr Hu could not open his eyes, and was gripping on tightly to his son. Many people from a nearby church reportedly came out to help.
When the paramedics arrived, they performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on Mr Hu as his pulse had apparently stopped. In fact, his heartbeat purportedly stopped at least four times on the way to the hospital.
Paramedics performed CPR on him for around 45 minutes.
Upon reaching the hospital, Mr Hu was sent to the intensive care unit (ICU) for treatment.
Shin Min Daily News reported that the family’s eldest son was on a business trip abroad, but rushed to Switzerland upon hearing news about his father.
Sadly, although the doctors tried their best, they could not save Mr Hu. His eldest son explained that he was “pretty much brain dead at the time”.
The family eventually made the tough call to take him off life support.
The heartbreaking loss was compounded by the fact that the family’s Europe trip had been 2.5 years in the making.
Mr Hu’s daughter and youngest son told Shin Min Daily News that they would book hotels and plan their itinerary every month after receiving their salaries. They even booked business class tickets to ensure that their family would have a comfortable flight.
The family reportedly spent around S$57,000 in total for the trip.
They recalled their father crying tears of joy during the trip as he never thought that he would get to go on a holiday to Europe in his lifetime. His daughter claimed that she had never seen him cry before.
Mr Hu’s wife also shared that he enjoyed travelling and kept a diary on his phone. One of the entries read, “I’m very grateful for my children. I’m so lucky to have my family by my side.”
Mrs Hu told Shin Min Daily News that although her husband had diabetes, he took his medication regularly.
Furthermore, before the trip, he also went for a health check-up and was deemed fit by the doctor.
Moreover, Mr Hu served on the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) for 31 years.
Source: Shin Min Daily News
Despite his heavy commitments as a firefighter, he always made the effort to be with his family. Be it celebrating events together, or planning overseas trips each year, it was evident that Mr Hu loved his family very much.
Having been married since they were both young, his passing thus hit his wife hard.
Mr Hu’s eldest son shared that he is, however, grateful that his father at least passed on during one of the happiest moments in his life.
Mr Hu’s body has since been brought back to Singapore from Switzerland. The family held his funeral at an HDB estate at Haig Road.
It is truly unfortunate that such tragedy had to strike during their family holiday.
MS News extends our deepest condolences to the family.
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Featured image adapted from Shin Min Daily News.
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