2nd February 2013
Its been a few days since the last post… and a lot has gone on.
The full moon rush kicked in and Jen started a course on the 29th with 6 people. I started the next day in the afternoon after already doing several early morning dives.
On the 31st was when some bad news came. I was conducting academics and was due to go into the pool for the afternoon with my 6 students whereas Jen was heading onto the boat for afternoon. A couple of hours before the boat left, I was called into the office by the General Manager and Operations Manager. When I asked if everything was ok, I got a very distinctive “no”. Thinking back, I thought that I had done something serious and I was going to be asked to leave… I was racking my brain as to what I could have done so bad, I certainly didn’t expect them to inform me of the sudden death of a staff member and friend.
Emma Van Burke had been at Crystal for about a year, coming here to do the Divemaster course and eventually getting a much sought after position in the Divemaster Team. Over this time she made many friends, including Jen and I, with her bubbly personality and zest for life. A easy source for a laugh of a smile and an fantastic customer service seemed to lift spirits even on the hard days.
She left Koh Tao in December to return to Australia and see her folks, not wanting to be here while Jen and I were back in the UK. She returned early January, and caught Dengue only a few days after getting back on the island.
She seemed to recover during the 2 week period of horrible Dengue (which people often suffer here) and eventually was well enough to return to work. Only a couple of days later, she twisted a nerve in her knee and went home.
After a few days, she was admitted to the clinic, complaining of vomiting and was put on a drip for her dehydration. During the night she complained of chest pains, and the decision was made by the doctors to evacuate her to Samui where facilities are much better. Unfortunately the weather was too bad to take a speedboat over, so the doctors had to delay the evacuation until the weather improved. Once it did, around 6am on the 31st, they attempted again, but as she was leaving Koh Tao, she suffered a cardiac arrest and was unable to be resuscitated.
I was informed first, so that I could tell Jen, and change instructors for her course. I was also offered the same thing. I took Jen for a little walk and told her… it was hard… still in disbelief myself… she had the same reaction..
After a couple of hours, Jen wanted to continue her course and keep busy (as did I)…. I think both of us found this a real struggle, especially being in separate areas and not being able to speak or see each other for all the afternoon.
At 6pm, when they were sure all her family and close friends had been told, the rest of the staff were told of the situation. I came out of the pool to many people sitting around the bar and office in tears. It was really hard to keep my game face on for my students… and then I finally sent them home. We then met in the classroom to be told of the details of her death, and what the next steps were. We then all went to the temple where she was being held until repatriation.
I sat through a very nice Buddist ceremony with everyone and we said our goodbyes, and then I went and got very drunk…
Nothing really else to say… we both pushed through our courses (Jenny finishing yesterday) and mine this morning.
Her body started the journey home today a. The funeral date has not been set yet but 3 of her closest friends are flying over to attend.
I am doing 2 weeks of training starting on the 5th doing my Staff Instructor course… hopefully over the next couple of days I will have time to chill and reflect on this bombshell.
All that leaves me to say, is that she will be missed…. terribly…. My condolences to her family, Martin, Craig, Bonnie, and all who knew her like we did.
Emma Van Burke – 12/06/81 to 31/01/13
