A heartbroken Dundee man has told how his 43-year-old wife tragically died after becoming ill in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Mother-of-two Lesley Cuthbert, from Birkhill, passed away in Ninewells Hospital despite attempts by her husband, Brian, and paramedics to revive her.
She also leaves behind her daughters, Catherine (18) and Rebecca (14).
Mr Cuthbert (48) said his wife had shown no signs of being unwell and had just gone back to work on Tuesday after proudly completing the Moonwalk in Edinburgh to raise money for Walk the Walk, a breast cancer charity.
He said she had been delighted with her efforts and had been fine after the walk, having taken Monday off to recover.
“She loved everybody and everybody loved her,” he said. “She hadn’t been unwell she had just completed the Moonwalk. She and her two pals had been raising money for breast cancer research.”
He said the couple had gone to bed as normal on Tuesday night but had both woken up at the same time, around 2.30am.
“She just grabbed me. She could hardly breathe and I could see she was really ill by the way she was holding on and looking at me. I telephoned for an ambulance right away and gave her CPR, and managed to get her back until help arrived.”
Despite the trauma, Mr Cuthbert took time to praise the efforts of the paramedics.
“The paramedics were brilliant,” he said. “They tried so hard to keep her going they were great. They took her to Ninewells once they had her stable but by that time the damage had been done.
“I was with her all the time. I sat with her until she eventually died around noon on Wednesday.
“I just can’t believe it. She was a brilliant person, everybody loved her and that will be reflected at her funeral next Friday.”
Born in Dundee, Mrs Cuthbert was educated at St Ninian’s Primary School and St John’s High School. She worked for Dundee City Council for many years, and was attached to the Lily Walker Centre in Ann Street for around the past 15 years.
“She enjoyed her work immensely and will be sorely missed by anyone who knew her,” said Mr Cuthbert.