Australian “battler” Glenn Stein was ecstatic when he embarked on his maiden cruise last week with Beverley, his wife of more than 50 years, at his side. The “humble and hardworking couple” were excited to enjoy the four-day journey from Brisbane to Airlie Beach and back, which was a present from one of their kids.
They had never taken a cruise or even been abroad before. The couple’s daughter-in-law Sarah told Yahoo News, “He thought it might be nice to buy them a cruise because one of their sons won some money.”
Sadly, Glenn complained to Beverley that he could have “a bit of food poisoning” after a couple “really great days” aboard the Carnival Luminosa. The pair dismissed the 74-year-old’s uneasiness, assuming it was nothing too serious, and went to bed.
Sarah remarked, “They’ve been married for more than 50 years and they just kind of get on with things.”
However, Beverley “could tell immediately that something was very wrong” when she woke up the following morning to find her husband asleep on the bed. She opened their cabin door in disbelief and called housekeepers, who in turn called the cruise ship’s medical staff.
We have a 43-page report detailing the care that they provided him. “[They] came up and brought a wheelchair and took him down to the medical center and were amazing.” They were also great with Bev, [who was] obviously extremely distraught,” Sarah told Yahoo.
Aussie man airlifted from cruise to nearby hospital
Despite their immediate response, it was quickly obvious that Glenn — who was revealed to have suffered a life-threatening strangulated hernia, which requires immediate surgery — was in bad shape.
As they waited for an emergency helicopter to pick up and transport Glenn to Bundaberg Hospital, the medical team urged Beverley to speak with her husband and “prepare herself” in case he didn’t make it.
While on board the helicopter, the pensioner’s condition continued to deteriorate and once he arrived on land, a paramedic at the hospital contacted three of the couple’s children — who were already in the car on their way — to let them know.
“He said, ‘I suggest you call the hospital to see if you can speak to dad because he’s very bad now and [you] might not make it [in time]’,” Sarah said. “They called the hospital, and those three did manage to speak to Glenn, which was really nice.”
But when Sarah and her husband tried to call just minutes later, they were told he had died. “He had literally just passed away as soon as they got off the phone.”
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