A father passed away just days after starting a weight-loss injection, which he believed would help him feel confident as he walked his daughter down the aisle. His grieving family is now seeking answers.
In 2022, Tim Ramsay, a truck driver from South Australia, decided to lose weight for his daughter’s wedding. Due to his demanding job, maintaining a healthy diet and exercise routine was challenging.
A doctor suggested a weight-loss medication might assist the 58-year-old in feeling more at ease on the big day. Tim’s daughter, Elyse, shared with 60 Minutes Australia that doctors had advised the weight-loss medicine could benefit “all aspects of [his] life and protect all [his] organs.”
In November 2022, Tim began using the weight-loss injection Saxenda. Unfortunately, his health began to decline swiftly afterward.
Saxenda is prescribed for “adults with excess weight (BMI ≥27) who also have weight-related medical problems or obesity (BMI ≥30), and children aged 12-17 years with a body weight above 132 pounds (60 kg) and obesity to help them lose weight and keep the weight off,” according to the manufacturer’s site.
Less than three weeks into the medication, Tim sent a voice message to Elyse while working in his truck.
“It’s dad here. I’m down at the depot in the truck. Would someone be able to come down and take me to the hospital please?”
Elyse noted in the 60 Minutes Australia interview that the message was unlike her father’s usual demeanor.
Tim was taken to the hospital with severe stomach pains, but despite numerous tests, doctors could not find a definitive cause.
He was sent home; however, the following night, his condition worsened, and he collapsed on his bathroom floor. Despite 40 minutes of CPR, Tim could not be revived. A coroner later ruled his cause of death as undetermined.
His family is determined to find out why this happened.
“I don’t believe that anybody should die without an explanation, you just don’t expire, there has got to be a reason for Tim’s death,” his wife Sue expressed to 60 Minutes.
Elyse also commented: “19 days between his first injection and the day he left us, alarm bells in our heads, in the TGA’s heads, and the coroner’s head should be ringing.”