Soldier likely died of brain aneurysm & swollen heart – widow changes ‘inconclusive’ PME claim

Hours after the widow of Corporal Leroy Thom, who died during training at Tacama in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice), spoke about the inconclusive nature of the post-mortem examination (PME) conducted on her husband, she now asserts that his demise was due to a brain aneurysm and a swollen heart.
This revelation comes amid conflicting reports regarding the PME findings and the handling of information surrounding the incident.
Initially, Caffeya Forde-Thom contacted Guyana Times to inform that the PME results were inconclusive and that further testing was required.
However, she later reached out to provide “clarity” and has now revealed that her husband died as a result of a brain aneurysm and a swollen heart. This information, she explained, was related to her by the doctors who “cut open” her husband.
She has no official documentation to corroborate this new claim.
However, an official at the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) has contacted this publication to confirm that the soldier was indeed found to have had a swollen heart and a brain aneurysm.
The GDF official, however, did not provide additional details regarding the PME results or whether samples were indeed taken for further testing.
When asked for a copy of the death certificate to confirm this new information, the GDF official said that they could not release it. When Guyana Times asked the widow about the death certificate, she indicated that the family was told they had to wait 10 to 14 days.
Thom, 30, a member of the 2nd Infantry Battalion and resident of Blueberry Hill in Linden, suddenly collapsed and died on Friday evening while in training at the Colonel John Clarke Military School at Tacama.
News of his demise was relayed to the family about 23:30h that evening. Family members were contending that they had a lot of questions surrounding the soldier’s death.
At the time, he was undergoing training on the Section Commander’s Course. Following his demise, the GDF had stated that Thom had complained of feeling unwell during a routine training event and had been taken to the Medical Centre, where he was attended to by a registered nurse and medics.
After his condition had deteriorated, a request was made for a medevac, and a team of medical specialists from the Georgetown Public Hospital was air-dashed to the training school. Upon arrival, the GDF said, all efforts to resuscitate the GDF rank proved futile, and the soldier was consequently pronounced dead.
A Board of Inquiry will be convened to investigate the circumstances surrounding the corporal’s death, the GDF has said.
Thom had left home on Monday to attend to his driver’s licence and returned on Tuesday morning before heading to work. He was participating in the Section Commander’s Course to secure a promotion.
Thom messaged his wife on Friday morning, stating he was returning to Tacama for training. Later that day, a friend informed his wife that he was in serious condition at Tacama. Forde-Thom claimed she was only officially informed of his situation by the GDF late Friday night.
She said his colleagues had told her that he collapsed while training, complaining of numbness in his foot. (G9)