>> Doctor denies alcohol as cause of tourist deaths
>> Foreign tourists die from wine? Family disagree
>> Police probe into deaths of 2 tourists in Nha Trang
>> Two foreign tourists die abnormally in Vietnam
26-year-old Canadian citizen Cathy Huynh and her travelling American companion Karin Joy Bowerman (27) arrived at the military hospital on a taxi. Although fully conscious, Karin continuously writhed upon being hospitalized at about 7:00 pm on July 30, said Dr. Ngo Thi Thanh Tam, vice head of Khanh Hoa Military Hospital’s emergency service and intensive care unit (ICU).
Cathy Huynh, who is of Vietnamese descent and can speak Vietnamese, told Dr. Tam that she and Karin had been vomiting since July 30 with Karin alone having vomited up to 15 times.
According to Dr. Tam, Karin had a heart rate of 164 beats per minute while a normal person just has 60 to 80 beats a minute.
Due to her deteriorating health conditions, Karin was then transferred to the Khanh Hoa General Hospital 10 minutes later.
This latter hospital applied necessary measures but she died at 10:40pm on July 30.
As for Cathy, she was still treated at the military hospital until she was discharged at 9:30pm on July 30.
Photo of Cathy Huynh, Canadian who died mysteriously in Vietnam from website GoFundMe.
Dr. Tam admitted that Cathy vomited but the Canadian woman was in stable condition.
After being discharged, Cathy went back to her hotel room on Nguyen Thien Thuat Street in Nha Trang, telling the hotel’s owner that she was fine.
The owner told Tuoi Tre that on the afternoon of July 30, the two said they felt tired and had him call a taxi to drive them to hospital.
“They were still able to walk…I heard Karin died…Cathy was back at the hotel and claimed she was still OK,” the owner said.
He added that one day after Karin’s death, Cathy Huynh went in and out the hotel as normal until the afternoon of August 1 when she “complained of tiredness”.
“We gave her rice gruel but she refused and took a taxi to the Khanh Hoa General Hospital by herself,” he said.
The guesthouse located on Nguyen Thiet Thuat, Nhat Trang where the two fated-ill female tourists shared a room.
Dr. Nguyen Thi Anh Phuong, vice head of the General Hospital’s ICU unit, told Tuoi Tre that Karin was admitted to the hospital suffering from a serious respiratory failure and palpitation with blood pressure dropping to zero.
Meanwhile, Cathy Huynh was in stable condition when hospitalized on August 1, said Dr. Pham Dinh Chi, another deputy head of the ICU unit.
“She had no injury but appeared to develop a shock,” Dr. Chi said.
Cathy was given anti-shock therapies and intensive care but her health got worse and she passed away on the dawn of August 2. According to her family members, she died at 2:45am.
Cathy dreamed of becoming teacher
Huynh Thi Huong, 57, Cathy Huynh’s mother, told Tuoi Tre on August 06 that she has received a diplomatic note from the Canadian Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City allowing her family to repatriate her daughter’s remains to Canada for funeral.
According to her family, Cathy Huynh graduated from Block University in Ontario, Canada and wished to become an elementary school teacher.
Mother and brother of Cathy Huynh: Huynh Thi Huong (L) and Michael Huynh. Photo by Tuoi Tre
Cathy had a Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) certificate and had submitted her CV to many English-teaching schools abroad, wishing to be a teacher for children.
“In the future I hope to become an elementary school teacher,” Ms. Huynh wrote on a website for people looking to teach English in South Korea. “I think traveling abroad will help me experience teaching young children also I will get to learn a new culture. I am independent, reliable and very open minded to trying new things.”
Huong said before the horrible incident, Cathy and Karin taught English at an elementary school in South Korea.
“Cathy told Karin that Nha Trang is a beautiful place so Karin invited my daughter to travel to Nha Trang for their vacation to last for one week and my daughter agreed,” Huong said.
Karin’s medical samples being preserved
Regarding to the death of Karin, Tom Tanner, Public Affairs Officer of the US Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City in charge of media, did not comment.
According to Tom Tanner, the US Consulate General has asked for assistance from Vietnamese concerned authorities to cremate Karin’s body and send her ashes to the US.
Meanwhile, Dr. Pham Xuan Thong, director of Forensic Examination Center in Khanh Hoa Province, said Karin’s medical samples are being preserved at the center and expected to be sent to Hanoi for analysis.
No results of the autopsy have been announced.
Dr. Thong added it often takes two weeks to get the results.