Dad dies on Cyprus holiday before his wedding day as family 'completely devastated'

Dad dies on Cyprus holiday before his wedding day as family 'completely devastated' Welsh dad Paulo Brockway, 44, died in Cyprus from a serious undiagnosed condition that was initially mistaken for a case of food poisoning A 44-year-old Welsh dad has died in Cyprus from a serious undiagnosed condition that was initially mistaken for food poisoning. Paulo Brockway and his fiancée, Kerry Debono, had travelled from Cardiff to the Mediterranean island in mid-September to celebrate their three-year anniversary. On September 16, the day they were due to fly home, Paulo became seriously ill and was taken to hospital. Doctors initially believed he had food poisoning, but a scan revealed he was suffering pancreatitis and his pancreas had stopped functioning. Paulo developed a serious infection and suffered two heart attacks. He died in hospital the following day, on September 17. Samantha Brockway said Paulo's unexpected death has "completely devastated" the family, especially his mother, siblings, son and fiancée, Wales Online reports. She said her brother's relationship with Kerry had "completely changed him". "His family had never seen him so happy. They were due to get married next year, and he was genuinely excited about their future together," she said. Paulo's family said he had sought medical help for stomach pain and extreme tiredness in the months before his holiday, but the severity of his condition had not been identified. The family are now raising money through the online platform GoFundMe to repatriate his body to Wales and help cover funeral costs. They also hope Paulo's story will raise awareness of the symptoms of pancreatitis. The NHS website says that the main symptom of pancreatitis is pain in the tummy, with other symptoms including nausea and vomiting. It advises people to go to A&E immediately if they experience sudden, severe tummy pain in the abdomen that spreads to their back, have difficulty breathing, or their skin appears blue or bruised. Paying tribute to her brother, Samantha said: "He was a dad, a loving fiancé, a brother and a son, and he was only 44 years old. He was someone who had so much life left to live and so much to look forward to. "He loved his family more than anything and was especially devoted to his 12-year-old son. He also absolutely loved climbing mountains, being outdoors and raising money for charity. Adventure was a huge part of who he was. "He still had so much life left to live. He had found love, achieved goals he had worked so hard for, was planning his wedding and had so much more to look forward to." Writing on the GoFundMe page, his fiancée Kerry said: "I am devastated and will miss him terribly. Over the last three years, Paulo had taken up mountain climbing, something he grew to absolutely love. "He climbed mountains for charity, raising money to help others, and the challenge of each climb gave him something to look forward to - always wanting to reach the next, bigger mountain. It was something he was incredibly passionate about and brought him so much happiness." At the time of writing, the fundraiser had raised £1,850.