Shaun Skinner died suddenly from a heart attack despite managing his cardiomyopathy.
The soon-to-be wife of a young Melbourne father living with a health condition they “didn’t even think about” has been left shattered after it “took him suddenly” last week.
Ashlee Tyrrell, 32, had recently returned to work after spending almost a decade at home while welcoming three kids with her fiance of 13 years, Shaun Skinner, 36.
But just days into her new job at Baby Bunting, Ashlee received a call that turned her life upside down: it was Shaun, telling her his pacemaker had “gone off”.
The 36-year-old had been diagnosed with cardiomyopathy (HCM), a disease of the heart muscle that makes it harder for the vital organ to pump blood effectively, at age 17 after collapsing while playing basketball.
But after having a pacemaker fitted, and following a “heart smart” lifestyle that included avoiding alcohol and strenuous exercise, Ashlee said he’d “never had any issues”.
“We just thought, maybe he’d overdone it, it wasn’t something that made us go, ‘oh, this is bad,’” Ashlee told news.com.au.
“The medical device, which helps regulate the heart’s rhythm by sending electrical impulses to the heart muscle, had only ever gone off once since Shaun had it fitted as a teenager and that was because he had over exerted himself.
“So we didn’t panic, but I told him to sit tight, and that I would come straight home.”
But just 10 minutes into the half-hour drive home, Ashlee got another call, this time from ambos en route to the couple’s home.
“That morning, our youngest two were sick, and because I had a new job, it was still quite fresh, Shaun offered to stay home and look after them so I could go in,” she explained.
“Ambulance Victoria called and said Shaun had phoned them. They said he was ‘terrified’ because he was home alone with our 3-year-old, Everly, and our 7-year-old, Violet, and he knew he needed someone with the kids.”
Tragically, by the time Ashlee made it home, Shaun’s condition had only worsened.
“When I got to the house, there was a fire engine, more than one ambulance, and a police car, I knew,” she said.
“I got out of the car and saw a paramedic, and I asked, ‘Is he OK?’
“She told me he was very sick, and it was not what I expected. I thought I would get to see him, I thought I’d get there, and he would be sitting on the couch, like, ‘I’m alright’.”
Paramedics worked tirelessly to revive Shaun, but after 45 minutes, he was pronounced dead after suffering an unexpected heart attack, something Ashlee said “still doesn’t feel real”.
“We were getting married next year,” she explained through tears. “It was something we kept putting off because of the kids, but it was finally happening.
“But after they said, ‘I’m sorry, there’s nothing more we can do’, my whole life crashed in a matter of seconds.”
In Australia, a person with HCM will generally have a typical life expectancy, especially if they follow a heart-healthy lifestyle. However, a small number of people are at risk for major complications, including sudden death and heart failure.
Ashlee and their three daughters – including 9-year-old Sophie, who was brought home from school early – all said goodbye to Shaun at home before his body was taken by the coroner. The results of an autopsy will be released in 16 weeks.
One of the most heartbreaking details from the ordeal, which occurred on August 4, was learning that when paramedics arrived on the scene, little Everly was lying on top of her daddy, giving him cuddles.
“I love him so much, I know he was holding on for the paramedics to arrive, just to make sure our girls were being looked after,” Ashlee said.
“He didn’t pass out until someone was there for them. The last thing he said to Violet was, ‘it’s OK, Daddy loves you’. Those were his last words.”
Ashlee’s best friend Jasmine Marshall has since launched a GoFundMe page to help the grief-stricken family as they face the “unimaginable tragic loss” of life without Shaun.
“Until a couple of weeks before his death, Shaun was the main provider for our family,” Ashlee said.
The pair met when she was just 18, when Ashlee got a job on the reception desk at the office for a door, wardrobe, and splashback manufacturer where Shaun worked. They got engaged a year later.
“He had been in his job for 15 years. He loved it. He was such a great dad and partner.”
The heartbroken mum is now focusing on helping their daughters navigate this difficult time, but said she can’t help but question whether there was more they could have done.
“It was out of nowhere, you can’t help but think ‘maybe I should have known it was coming’, but there was no way to know,” she said.
“But he’d never had any problems, his heart condition was almost mundane, we didn’t even think about it because there was never any issues.
“I’m not silly, I knew he wasn’t going to live to be 100, but I didn’t think I would lose him young. He took his medication every day, we had no inkling, lots of people have this condition and live long, healthy lives, his grandfather had it and lived to be an old man.
“We had no idea it would be something that would take him away from us.”
Despite losing Shaun so suddenly, Ashlee wanted to thank the emergency services who were there for her during the “worst moment of my life”.
“Everyone that was there that day, the paramedics, the police, were the most gentle, kindest people. They tried so hard to save him. They made sure we were protected from that things we weren’t supposed to see and I am so grateful they saved my little girls from that.”