British Widow's Heartbreak: Husband's Death Brings Bureaucratic Ordeal

[snoop1130]

Picture courtesy of Gill Dunn

 

Gill Dunn found herself in a heart-wrenching situation after her husband, Paul, suffered a fatal heart attack on a flight home from their dream holiday in Thailand. Their joyous two-week trip celebrating Paul's retirement from the NHS ended in tragedy when Paul, 66, collapsed just hours into their flight. An emergency landing was made in Delhi, but despite two weeks of intensive care, Paul passed away on 5th March.

 

Gill, 69, faced a difficult journey, both emotionally and bureaucratically, as she struggled to navigate India's complex system to bring Paul's remains back to the UK. The experience was marked by a series of administrative challenges, including obtaining multiple visas and permissions.

 

For Gill, the ordeal began with securing an emergency visa to enter India and culminated in a bureaucratic labyrinth involving police permissions and documentation like a cremation certificate. "It was a maze of conflicting information," Gill said of the experience, which added to her grief.

 

 

 

The process left Gill carrying Paul's ashes home in a backpack, a poignant end to their over 40 years together. Despite receiving support from her son Matthew and his partner Amy, Gill described the experience as brutally overwhelming.

 

Back home now, Gill hopes to inspire changes that would simplify the process for bereaved families grappling with foreign bureaucracies. "No one should face this kind of ordeal after losing a loved one," she stated, emphasising the need for compassionate assistance in such challenging times, reported The Thaiger.

 

-- 2025-03-27

 

 

[NoDisplayName]

16 minutes ago, snoop1130 said:

Gill, 69, faced a difficult journey, both emotionally and bureaucratically, as she struggled to navigate India's complex system to bring Paul's remains back to the UK.

 

Gosh, it must have taken months to get all the certificates and the correct visas and all the papers properly stamped!

 

So exactly how many months did it take?

 

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.

 

Oh, my lady Gaga!  She was forced to navigate the bureaucracy for 48 whole hours!

 

Oh, the gofundmenanity!

[richard_smith237]

Sounds horrific... to have to go through that alone while suffering the loss of a life long partner.

 

If only governments could show some compassion and work with local consular offices to make such process as smooth and compassionate as possible - it can't be that difficult when all thats needed in most cases is a signature.

 

... It seems the 'humanity' of her suffering was ignored and replaced with indiscriminate bureaucracy - but brutal an completely lacking in basic human decency.

 

At least the lady was sensible enough to have her beloved cremated instead of dealing with the expensive process of bringing home his body.

 

 

19 minutes ago, snoop1130 said:

ack home now, Gill hopes to inspire changes that would simplify the process for bereaved families grappling with foreign bureaucracies. "No one should face this kind of ordeal after losing a loved one," she stated, emphasising the need for compassionate assistance in such challenging times, reported The Thaiger.

 

Quite rightly so.

[Tropicalevo]

35 minutes ago, NoDisplayName said:

 

Gosh, it must have taken months to get all the certificates and the correct visas and all the papers properly stamped!

 

So exactly how many months did it take?

 

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.

 

Oh, my lady Gaga!  She was forced to navigate the bureaucracy for 48 whole hours!

 

Oh, the gofundmenanity!

 

He was in intensive care there for two weeks.

 

55 minutes ago, snoop1130 said:

but despite two weeks of intensive care, Paul passed away on 5th March.

 

[NoDisplayName]

11 minutes ago, Tropicalevo said:

 

He was in intensive care there for two weeks.

 

 

 

But he wasn't dead.

 

After he died, it took a whole two days to get the death certificates, get the body cremated and secure the paperwork to carry the urn out by plane.

 

 

[jvs]

Takes about the same time to get the papers ready over here.

Just went thru this earlier this week with people from India.

Language barrier is the biggest problem.

[Celsius]

most people on this forum don't know the meaning of a life long partner cuz they married bargirls 

[FritsSikkink]

5 minutes ago, Celsius said:

most people on this forum don't know the meaning of a life long partner cuz they married bargirls 

Weren't you married about 4 times?

[rough diamond]

20 minutes ago, Celsius said:

most people on this forum don't know the meaning of a life long partner cuz they married bargirls 

Speaking for yourself are you?

[WHansen]

The no life grumpy old men on Asean Now never miss an opportunity to criticise.Well done.

[ChipButty]

Shame he ended up in that dump of an hospital in India, even the government hospitals in Thailand are better than them, another couple of hours he would have been in Dubai, RIP Fellow, 

[bannork]

Isn't this story about India more than Thailand?

[geisha]

For all of you who post unsympathetic answers , how would you feel if this happened to your mother, father, wife or child ? 

[billd766]

3 hours ago, geisha said:

For all of you who post unsympathetic answers , how would you feel if this happened to your mother, father, wife or child ? 

Most of them have nothing better to do with their pathetic little lives. so they moan and whine, try to drown the normal posters out, and hijack threads.

[frank83628]

Now sad it that, he worked all his life and died while calibrating his retirement of just 2 weeks

[MalcolmB]

5 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

Sounds horrific... to have to go through that alone while suffering the loss of a life long partner.

You forgot he word “imagine”

 

5 hours ago, NoDisplayName said:

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.

 

[lordgrinz]

10 minutes ago, frank83628 said:

Now sad it that, he worked all his life and died while calibrating his retirement of just 2 weeks

 

Knowing my luck, I'll end up the same way, probably die before I even collect my first SS check.

[richard_smith237]

10 hours ago, ChipButty said:

Shame he ended up in that dump of an hospital in India, even the government hospitals in Thailand are better than them, another couple of hours he would have been in Dubai, RIP Fellow, 

 

True...  I wonder if in the same manner an 'epi-pen' can be carried on a flight, can a Low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) pen (i.e clexane) be carried to administer in emergencies ?

 

Then the question begs:  Can airlines even carry epi-pens or are they reliant on those with allerigies to carry them themselves ?

 

The question then is: Could the airline flight crew be more 'active' or better protected to admistister medication considered critical without fear of being found at fault - perhaps through 'some sort of international flight laws' that allow for that....

[jimn]

16 hours ago, NoDisplayName said:

 

Gosh, it must have taken months to get all the certificates and the correct visas and all the papers properly stamped!

 

So exactly how many months did it take?

 

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.

 

Oh, my lady Gaga!  She was forced to navigate the bureaucracy for 48 whole hours!

 

Oh, the gofundmenanity!

What a pathetic post, have you no sympathy for this woman. Don't forget he was seriously ill in hospital for 2 weeks prior to his death. It must have been  nightmare for her, poor woman.

[ericbj]

13 hours ago, lordgrinz said:

 

Knowing my luck, I'll end up the same way, probably die before I even collect my first SS check.

Cheerful wee fella you are.  Maybe you realise your lifestyle condemns you to an early demise.  But looking on the positive side, some have to pay for the long-haulers such as myself.

[NoDisplayName]

3 hours ago, jimn said:

What a pathetic post, have you no sympathy for this woman. Don't forget he was seriously ill in hospital for 2 weeks prior to his death. It must have been  nightmare for her, poor woman.

 

Not if she goes to whine to the tabloids.

[lordgrinz]

3 minutes ago, ericbj said:

Cheerful wee fella you are.  Maybe you realise your lifestyle condemns you to an early demise.  But looking on the positive side, some have to pay for the long-haulers such s myself.

 

Yup, the joys of being forced to pay into a Ponzi scheme.

[ericbj]

15 minutes ago, lordgrinz said:

 

Yup, the joys of being forced to pay into a Ponzi scheme.

I paid into the ponzi scheme for the most part voluntarily, while abroad.  The principle was good, but the calculations were faulty.
The real villains of the piece, however, have been politicians who play Russian roulette with taxpayers' money and national economies.  For instance by reducing interest rates to rock-bottom and devaluing the currency through various forms of 'money-printing'.  And they get away with it because the public is deluded by mass-media in the hands the financial elites.  Democracy in name but not substance.

[lordgrinz]

4 minutes ago, ericbj said:

I paid into the ponzi scheme for the most part voluntarily, while abroad.  The principle was good, but the calculations were faulty.
The real villains of the piece, however, have been politicians who play Russian roulette with taxpayers' money and national economies.  For instance by reducing interest rates to rock-bottom and devaluing the currency through various forms of 'money-printing'.  And they get away with it because the public is deluded by mass-media in the hands the financial elites.  Democracy in name but not substance.

 

If I was allowed to put the same amount into my own personal retirement choice, I would be way farther ahead, and the money would be in my control, not an incompetent governments. The whole SS Ponzi scheme should be for the deadbeats who don't want to (or refuse to) save for retirement, not forced on those of us who worked hard for our money.

[Kinok Farang]

19 hours ago, Celsius said:

most people on this forum don't know the meaning of a life long partner cuz they married bargirls 

Not me,i only live with my bar-girl gf.

I see her most mornings and afternoons and get my alone time at night when she doesn't come home.

Win,Win.

[cardinalblue]

Really a non story…

[Liverpool Lou]

9 hours ago, NoDisplayName said:

 

Not if she goes to whine to the tabloids.

Which tabloid has she whined to?

[OJAS]

On 3/27/2025 at 4:47 PM, NoDisplayName said:

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.

 

Source, please. No mention in the OP.

 

 

[NoDisplayName]

13 minutes ago, OJAS said:

Source, please. No mention in the OP.

 

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/family-and-relationships/parenting/thailand-holiday-hell-as-husband-dies-and-wife-brings-remains-home-in-rucksack/ar-AA1BHS1s

[Bundooman]

On 3/27/2025 at 4:47 PM, NoDisplayName said:

 

Gosh, it must have taken months to get all the certificates and the correct visas and all the papers properly stamped!

 

So exactly how many months did it take?

 

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.

 

Oh, my lady Gaga!  She was forced to navigate the bureaucracy for 48 whole hours!

 

Oh, the gofundmenanity!

Your sneering, unsympathetic and vicious post tells all of us just who you are!

Where does it mention 'Gofundme'?

I suppose you, with your callous attitude towards this woman's grief; if it were your partner, you would just <deleted> off and leave the body there. 

Just return to Thailand and sneer at India in some sleazy bar over a beer and a BG.

This is the most disgusting post I have ever seen on this forum in my 20 years here.

You should be ashamed of your response - but the likes of you never are - are they?