A wife has paid tribute to her 'loving' husband after he tragically died whilst they were hiking in Colombia. Thomas Arthur, 27, grew up in Kirton in Lindsey and attended John Leggott College, in Scunthorpe, before moving to
London and studying to become a vet. After meeting his wife-to-be Carolyn in a veterinary practice in Aberdeen in 2015, the pair moved to Edinburgh the following year. A couple of years later, they went travelling in South America, spending time in Colombia in late 2019. Tragically, whilst out hiking in Tayrona National Park on October 19 that year, Thomas came into difficulty and collapsed part way through before dying on the nearby Brava Beach around 40 minutes later. Read more: Family pay tribute after tragic death of 'caring' Cleethorpes dad who took own life at Humber Bridge An inquest held at Cleethorpes Town Hall, led by Coroner Marianne Johnson, heard how the pair had taken a number of wrong turns during their hike, causing them to walk for longer than expected. Sadly, after Thomas suffered a cardiac arrest, a storm hit the area meaning there was no way for helicopter or boat to reach him in time to assist with medical attention. Despite his wife Carolyn giving him CPR for a number of minutes, his heart could not be restarted and Thomas passed away. 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. However, Carolyn confirmed 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." 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." Read More Related Articles Family's tribute to 'caring' Immingham teenager who tragically took his own life Read More Related Articles Tributes after 'loving' dad, 23, tragically dies in self-harm act gone wrong Carolyn put Thomas in the recovery position whilst going to get help from the hostel. However, a tropical storm hit Brava Beach, where he had collapsed. This meant there was no way a boat or helicopter could get to the couple to help Thomas. Following this, Carolyn began to perform CPR on her husband, but he was unresponsive. In response to the presence of cocaine in his blood, Carolyn said she was "shocked" and refused to believe it had played a part in his death. She believes the drug came from drinks they had a few days prior and that if he was taking cocaine he was keeping it a secret from her. In her final words, she said: "Tom will be remembered for his kindness and compassion." In conclusion, Marianne Johnson declared a narrative verdict, saying: "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." READ NEXT Tributes to Grimsby golfing champion with 'blinding smile' who has tragically died aged 57 Family pay tribute to 'loyal and kind' dad who passed away after battle with anaemia Grimsby man tragically dies of brain tumour after collapsing on
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