A MUM whose son died of a heart attack wants answers over his sudden death.
Stephen Oliver was enjoying a night out with friends in Corfu, Greece, when he collapsed in October.
He had been fit and healthy and showed no signs of ill health, but his Greek death certificate records the cause of death as heart attack due to coronary disease.
His shocked and devastated family have only now been able to bring themselves to speak about the tragedy.
Mum Jan Oliver, 56, said: “I still can’t believe it. I keep expecting him to walk through the door with a smile on his face.
“Initially, I was told he had fallen and hit his head and there were complications.
“To be told it was a heart condition, I was so shocked.
“I expected the toxicology reports to say he had his drink spiked, but he hadn’t. He only had alcohol from one drink in him.
“He was so fit and well. He’d passed medical examinations for the RAF in the past and the Army about 18 months earlier.
“I’m left with so many questions.
“How did a heart condition go undiagnosed? Should I have known as his mother, even if it was sudden adult death?”
She found out her son had died when one of his friends in Greece told another friend in England and she visited Ms Oliver’s home to break the news.
While coping with her grief and shock, she managed to arrange to fly his body home and plan his funeral, which friends attended dressed in red and white, in tribute to Stephen’s love of Liverpool football club.
Stephen had gone to Corfu five months earlier to work and had found a job in a bar in Sidari. He celebrated his 30th birthday while he was there.
He was due to return home to his mum and step dad Bryan Tomkinson’s home on October 23 as the holiday season ended, but he died on October 11.
His death came within days of dad Terry Oliver, 67, flying home to Leeds after surprising him with a visit.
Ms Oliver, of Blenheim Chase, Leigh, said: “He went to Corfu on holiday eight years before and always wanted to go and work out there. He had been working at E.on in Rayleigh and told me office work was not for him.
“My Stephen was a fun, outgoing person and loved the outdoor life.
“He was very happy in Greece. The friends with him when he collapsed told me they were laughing and joking and posing for photos when it happened, so at least he was happy and didn’t suffer.”
Stephen grew up in Leigh with his sister Tamara, now 36, and went to Bournemouth Park Primary School and Cecil Jones School before studying travel and tourism at college.
He regularly raised money for charities like Children in Need and Help for Heroes.
In keeping with his generosity his friends and colleagues from E.on held a charity football match in November, raising £800 which his mum will use for a memorial bench at Southend Cemetery.
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