A BRIT mother died suddenly in front of her husband and children on a flight back to the UK.
Helen Rhodes excitedly went home with her family on August 5 for a “new adventure” after living in Hong Kong for 15 years.
But a few hours after the long-haul flight, the obstetrician turned out to be unresponsive after she had apparently fallen asleep.
Helen could not be resuscitated aboard the plane.
Distressingly, her devastated children had to sit next to their mother who had fallen into a “breathless sleep” for another eight hours.
She was cradled by her loved ones until the plane finally landed in Frankfurt, Germany.
Although it was “extremely traumatic” for her family, they found comfort in being able to say goodbye to her.
The mother’s body remained in the German city while her heartbroken husband and children traveled to the UK.
Jayne Jeje, a friend of Helen’s, has launched a GoFundMe to help fund her body’s repatriation and funeral expenses.
She described the midwife as a “devoted wife and mother” who was “the glue that held her family together.”
Jayne wrote: “This fundraiser is in honor of this beautiful woman loved by so many, a dear friend who touched so many people.
“We can only hope she knew how much she meant to us and how her void can never be filled.
“How this loss is so painful and surreal. The sadness we feel is paralyzing. Yet we feel lucky to have known her.”