My adult son aged 28 died 6 months ago of a sudden cardiac event. It was totally unexpected and he was a very fit young man. He leaves us as his parents and a slightly older brother who loved him dearly and who is devastated. I would be interested to know how parents in similar circumstances deal with thoughts of your child? Sometimes one thought can lead to another and I can get into a terrible spiral of grief.
I am a coroner. Whilst I cannot give detailed/specific advice, if anybody has any general query regarding the process ( which can be difficult to navigate) I might be able to answer those queries on this forum. That way, at least I can feel I am helping you in some small way.
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I have a question, I lost my husband in November to penile cancer, if the hospital had done a biopsy instead of sending him home every time, would he might of had chance with chemo.
We found out 22nd October and 13th November we were told there was nothing they could do and he was too weak for chemo he died 10 days later.
I only had 4 weeks in total with him.
He was only 50.
Hi. I am so sorry to hear of your loss. As I have said previously, I cannot comment on individual cases. That said, if you feel that the hospital could have done more, then you can ask the patient advice and liaison service (PALS) to assist you. They provide a point of contact for patients and their families and can help you resolve concerns or problems when you are using the NHS. You can find your nearest office on the NHS website or ask your GP surgery or hospital for details of the nearest PALS organisation.
I lost my Son last May, age 30. We are waiting for inquest date. The inquest is open but waiting for all evidence and testing on my family. Have you had a diagnosis for your son? Iām so sorry we are here and our sons arenāt. Itās too much isnāt it. Iāve had an awful time with our coroners officer, he was very judgemental and had no idea about sudden cardiac death in the young. Iāve since found Cardiac risk in the young and they have been more than supportive and helpful.
Hi. I am so sorry for your loss. Unfortunately we belong to the āclubā that nobody wants to belong to. The post mortem for my son was inconclusive. Unfortunately as a coroner I know that sudden cardiac death in young men can be unexplained despite the best efforts of the pathologist and specialist heart surgeons who examine the heart after death. I am glad that you have been able to contact CRY which is an excellent organisation. You are probably aware but CRY offers a free screening service for young people to determine whether or not there are any cardiac issues which could be a problem in the future. After my sonās death a friend had her adult son tested through CRY and unfortunately something was discovered which Is the subject of further examination. If we can I think it is worth passing it on to people to have their children ā especially sons ā tested by way of an ECG to see if there is something which can be treated to avoid a tragedy in the future. Sometimes there is a genetic link which is worth exploring, but it seems that you are pursuing this already. I hope that the inquest process is not too difficult for you. The reality is that in these types of cases the coroner is guided by the medical evidence and there is little more that the coroner can add at the inquest itself.
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We are having all the tests to see if genetic. Can I ask - what is the job of coroner? You get all the medical evidence, families canāt speak to you only officers. We asked to speak with our coroner but were told we could only speak with CO. Do you tell families about CRY when it is sudden death under age 35?
Ive put a complaint in to PALS and have a solicitor dealing with the case for delayed cancer diagnosis.
Sorry I just wanted your opinion with being a coroner
Hi. A coroner is a lawyer /judge whose role is to determine who has passed away and how when and where that person came by their death. Unlike judges in other courts, a coroner does not determine any issues relating to āfaultā although a coroner can make a determination if they feel that there is some shortcoming somewhere and furthermore can make a recommendation to the government or any other institutional body regarding systems which could be improved. Because a coroner is a judge, the coroner can only speak to anybody who has an interest in the inquest (including the family) in the inquest court. Proceedings are always recorded in the inquest Court so there is transparency and so one interested person does not think that another interested person is having private discussions with the coronerā¦ This is exactly the same in any other court proceedings and is to ensure fairness. That is why in the coronerās Court all communication between the family has to go through the officers. That said, once the matter is her as an inquest the coroner is perfectly open to discuss matters with the family or any other interested person at the inquest hearing itself. Hope that helps to explain the procedure.
I am very sorry to hear of the loss of your son and I send my condolences. It must be strange, and perhaps difficult, for you to be experiencing what has happened from the perspective of a parent, rather than a coroner. It is very good of you to be offering advice to others. My son died in November aged 33 and the ambulance crew thought it was a heart attack. However the post mortem was inconclusive, so further tests have been carried out and we are awaiting the results any day now. There seem to be a lot of young men dying from heart problems nowadays and I wondered whether it has always been the case or whether, in your role as a coroner, you have seen more of this in the years since covid?
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Hi. Have you had the post mortem results yet? In reply to your query; in 20 years as a coroner I have seen happily very few sudden unexplained cardiac deaths in young people.
Hello, WilliamEdward, and thank you for replying. We are still awaiting the test results, but I gather it is not unusual for them to take this long. The wait is stressful though. There has been a lot of talk generally online about covid / covid jab causing more heart attacks in young people, so I am interested to hear that you have not found this to be the case.