‘Loving’ dad-of-three, 54, dies suddenly on sofa next to wife after ‘gasping’ then going limp

A DAD-OF-THREE died suddenly while sat on the sofa with his wife from a cardiac arrest on New Year’s Eve, family friends have revealed.

Mark Reeves, 54, from south Australia, started gasping for air and went limp, letting go of his wife Maxine’s arm before losing his life.

go fund meMark Reeves (right) died suddenly while sat on the sofa with his wife from a cardiac arrest on New Year’s Eve[/caption]

go fund meHe started gasping for air and went limp, letting go of his wife Maxine’s arm (pictured together)[/caption]

The “gentle giant” had felt off, restless and uncomfortable all evening before the tragic emergency, according to Shona Burgess, a family friend. 

She told 7News: “He said he felt better because Maxi was quite insistent saying she should call him an ambulance.

“He didn’t seem to be in any excruciating pain, he was just uncomfortable and his right arm felt funny.

“He gasped, then his arm just let go of her and he was gone.”

Around 30,000 Brits suffer a cardiac arrest every year and just one in 10 survive, according to the British Heart Foundation.

It occurs when your heart suddenly stops pumping blood around your body, and is not the same as a heart attack.

Cardiac arrests are caused by an abnormal heart rhythm, which happens when the heart’s electrical system isn’t working properly.

People with disease of the heart muscle, genetic heart conditions, heart valve disease or severe or untreated inflammation of the heart muscle can be more at risk.

Cardiac arrests can also be triggered by a heart atack, losing a large amount of blood, a drop in blood oxygen levels, electrocution or a drug overdose.

Mark had “experienced health issues like anyone else has when you’re in your 50s, but nothing that we would have thought would lead to that”, Shona said.

He was enjoying some time off at a friend’s home in Moonta Bay on New Year’s Eve but started to feel unable to get comfortable.

Mark, known as “Reeva” to his friends, went out for some fresh air and then settled on the sofa with Maxine, who thought he let out a laugh when he started gasping for air.

She and friends tried to resuscitate him until paramedics arrived, but he tragically lost his life.

Now, Shona is raising funds to cover the costs of Mark’s funeral, “giving him the service he so deserves with the many friends we know that will want to say goodbye”.

The family hope to work with a local jeweller to turn his ashes into jewellery for Maxine and the children Jaxon, CJ & Heath.You can donate at Shona’s GoFundMe here.