A DAD-to-be who died on the day his daughter was born may have lived if a heart defect had not been missed on a hospital scan, a coroner has ruled. Thomas Gibson, 40, would probably have been given a pacemaker which would have likely prevented his sudden death, had medics correctly interpreted his electrocardiogram (ECG), Stockport Coroner's Court heard. 5 Rebecca Moss with her late partner Thomas Gibson Credit: PA 5 Thomas, 40, died on the same day his first child was born Credit: PA 5 Rebecca, from Stretford, Greater Manchester, with baby Harper Credit: MEN Media Eleven days later, the day Mr Gibson was due to become a father, his partner Rebecca Moss tried to rouse him as she prepared to go to hospital for an elective Caesarean .
"Wake up, it's baby day," she told him and went to kiss him but found him stiff and cold. Ms Moss attempted emergency first aid until an ambulance arrived at their home in Stretford, Greater Manchester, and he was declared dead. She gave birth to their daughter, Harper, the same day.
Concluding the two-day inquest hearing, coroner Christopher Morris said: "I can't even begin to fathom what that must have been like for her, particularly in the context of what should have been the happiest day for both of them." He ruled that Mr Gibson died as a consequence of sudden cardiac death due to myocardial fibrosis - scarring of the heart muscles. He added: "Eleven days previously Mr Gibson had been seen at his local hospital, which provides specialist card.
