A young bride died of a mysterious illness while vacationing on her honeymoon in Fiji, it was reported.
At first, she thought it was a stomach illness and went to sleep to fight it off.
But after a few hours, Kelly was taken to a hospital in Lautoka, where doctors started treating her for typhoid. She then went into a coma on Friday after not responding to two days of treatment.
“She said over the phone she was scared she was going to die and I just told her I loved her — what else could I say?” Chase Clarke, 28, told the Telegraph. “I told her to be strong, that I was coming straight back and to rest up because she needed her strength.”
That was their last conversation, as she died at 10:40 p.m. on Friday night.
“Kelly was very intelligent, beautiful, lovely and caring,” Chase said. “She loved kids and loved her work as a nurse and was getting great feedback from work.”
Blood tests ruled out typhoid.
The family said she contracted a fungal infection in both her lungs that led to organ failure and septicemia.
Chase said that the Fiji government has a “disgusting” way of having family members identify the bodies of loved ones.
“It was disgusting, they put her body in a refrigerated shipping container and I pulled the sheet off her head and saw her lying there with other bodies on shelves,” he said.
He added, “I don’t know what to say, I’m still in shock, I had to dress her body in her own clothes, there was no mortician there, it’s not something I want to talk about.”
“I blame myself, the guilt is heavy, no one else, had we not gone to Fiji on our honeymoon, she might still be alive today, I will always wonder,” Chase added.