A Dundee woman has told how she switched off her husband’s life support just hours after he had been given a long-awaited heart transplant.
Father of one Steven Ellwood, 34, died on Sunday after suffering bleeding on his brain following the surgery on Friday.
His wife Karen, 28, said making the decision to switch off the equipment that was keeping him alive was the hardest thing she has ever had to do.
“The ironic thing is the heart surgery itself had been successful but Steven died from a complication that caused bleeding on his brain,” said Karen, a dental nurse in Broughty Ferry.
“The doctors were brilliant but they couldn’t understand what went wrong.
“They said it was very rare for something like this to happen and we may never know exactly what happened.”
Karen said the weekend had started full of hope for her and Steven, who have a 19-month-old son, Jack.
Steven, who was the manager of William Hill bookmakers in Whitehall Street and lived in Douglas, had received a long-awaited phone call in the early hours of Friday morning telling him a transplant heart had become available.
Steven suffered a heart attack in 2007. He spent time in hospital and had an internal defibrillator fitted.
Karen said: “He had Thursday off to look after Jack while I went to work, so he was able to spend one last day with his son.”
Steven is also survived by his mum and dad, Iris and Jim, who live in Tayport, and brother Jonathan, 30.
Friends of Steven Ellwood used a Dundee landmark to pay tribute.
One of the penguins outside the Overgate Centre has been kitted out with a knitted Dundee United top bearing Steven’s name.
His widow Karen said: “One of his friends decided to put a United strip on one of the penguins as a tribute to Steven. It is really poignant as Steven was a dedicated fan.”
As a mark of his love for the Tannadice club, Karen hopes to hold a gathering of friends and family at the stadium, once his body has been returned to Dundee from Glasgow.