Recently I received an e mail from a lady called Cathy who had been to see the Practice Nurse (Sarah) in her local GP surgery and she suggesting writing to me. Cathy wrote about the tragic news her youngest son, Hudson, had passed away from carbon monoxide poisoning in a homestay in Quito, Ecuador in August 2023. Hudson was just 24 years old.
WHAT HAD HAPPENED?
After saving up for months, Hudson left his home in Surrey and headed to Latin America in May 2023, where he spent the next few months travelling around the region, staying in accommodation chosen by a well-known travel company, specialising in young people's travel. His structured trip included volunteering on local projects and learning Spanish.
On the morning of Wednesday 30th August 2023, Hudson ate a hearty breakfast, laughed and joked with his homestay family and other volunteers, and telephoned home. Within minutes of having gone for a shower, Hudson was found passed away in the bathroom.
Hudson had been feeling ill for several days. He was usually fit and healthy, but had complained about sickness, and light-headedness, and had passed out several times. Hudson died with a carbon monoxide blood level of 51.75% - normal levers in health adults ranged between 0 - 5%.
His death was entirely preventable and in the aftermath, it became clear that a greater awareness and simple precautions could help avoid such a devastating loss. In Hudson's memory, Cathy established the
HUDSON PACK SAFE APPEAL , which aims to raise awareness of carbon monoxide risks while travelling.
Two years on and with significant work to get to this stage, Cathy and her family are promoting a portable travel-specific CO alarm which costs around £20 and ideally attaches to a traveller's hand luggage, so remaining visible and front-of-mind throughout their journey. The CO alarm in now sold in WHSmiths/InMotion stores at 14 major UK airports and Euston station.
This carbon monoxide alarm is compact and lighteweight for portability, including a useful carry strap. It was a 10 year battery life and costs just over £20 from
this website.
RAISING AWARENESS in the TRAVEL HEALTH COMMUNITY
I think within our travel consultations and in literature we give to travellers, this is an ideal opportunity to raise awareness to all we see, but especially the back packer type traveller. By helping them to keep safe and promote awareness of this important issue, lives will be saved.
There is a very
moving video of Hudson's Mum Cathy in conversation with Kathy Atkinson from the Safer Tourism Foundation where they discuss how their partnership began, the incredible progress made, including a retailers decision to stock CO alarms in airport branches and the impact they hope to have on travellers everywhere. It's well worth a watch and within it, they give good advice and useful weblinks. The video can also be seen on the
CARBON AWARENESS WEBSITE.
FOR FURTHER RESOURCES GOOD TO SHARE WITH YOUR TRAVELLERS
PLEASE NOTE
I have also updated my General Travel Advice Leaflet to reflect this blog. The leaflet is found at item no. 4 at Tools - Jane Chiodini to download and also on the Traveller Advice Resources page at Traveller Advice Resources - Jane Chiodini
