Woman dies on flight to France while husband thought she was asleep next to him
26.09.2023 - 08:33
/ dailyrecord.co.uk
Tributes have been paid to a top gynaecologist who died on a flight to the south of France with her husband.
Professor Linda Cardozo, a professor of urogynaecology and consultant gynaecologist at King's College Hospital, London. She had been having health issues prior to the holiday, but it was thought she was getting better, her family said.
She was heading to Nice for a week on Thursday, September 21, and had fallen asleep next to husband Stuart Hutchison but did not wake up.
After the plane landed in France the emergency services attended to her, but sadly, nothing could be done and she was pronounced dead.
Her family said in a statement that most other passengers had already disembarked by the time it was discovered she had died, the Mirror reports.
Following health troubles, Prof Cardozo had been 'on the mend'. She was 'the life of the party' and had been planning on returning to work after her holiday, the family said.
The statement said: "For someone so hell bent on living life to the full and so scared of retirement, it was quite a fitting end. We imagine she'd be quite pleased that even her death was an international police incident. We are incredibly thankful for the kind professionalism of the BA staff and the airport duty manager immediately on hand."
Prof Cardozo was awarded an OBE in 2014 for services to urogynaecology and women's health, and has also received lifetime achievement awards from International Continence Society and the British Society of Urogynaecology. She was also a board member of a number of medical associations relating to women's health.
Leonie Penna, chief medical officer at King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said in a tribute: "Linda worked at King's for 44 years and was a