A Marlow man died in his partner’s arms just hours after being discharged from hospital after suffering a host of serious health problems, an inquest heard this week.

John Ronan, 46, tragically died on March 22 last year after suffering chest pains at his home in Savill Way.

The former builder, who was born in High Wycombe, had been discharged from Wexham Park Hospital the day before, after being transferred there from the Royal Brompton for rehabilitation around a month before.

His devastated partner Michaela Kahan described the events leading up to Mr Ronan’s death and told of how he died in her arms in a heartbreaking statement read out to the court by coroner’s officer Michelle Croxford.

Ms Kahan said when she arrived at the hospital on March 21 to pick up Mr Ronan, she was told they were waiting for someone from the psychiatric team to arrive so they could speak to him.

She described how Mr Ronan was “distressed” while they were waiting for the psychiatrist, and “agitated” about going back home, telling the court they left after waiting for around an hour.

She said: “Once in the car, he was very joyful and optimistic.

“He had been in hospital since before Christmas. He spoke about our future together and said we should name our first child Blossom.”

Mr Ronan was being treated at the Royal Brompton Hospital from December 2016 until February 2017 after suffering life-threatening lung failure.

He was sent back to Wexham Park following his treatment for some further treatment as well as rehabilitation, being discharged on March 21.

Ms Kahan said she took Mr Ronan home and left for work at around 2.45pm, sending him a text at around 4.30pm telling him she was going to come home early as she was worried about leaving him alone.

Mr Ronan texted her back to say he was becoming anxious about being by himself in the house, ringing Ms Kahan a short while later to say he had fallen while trying to get up the stairs to the bathroom.

Ms Kahan said she was worried and told him to call a neighbour, with Mr Ronan texting her a while later to say he had made it safely to the bathroom.

The couple had a dinner of fish and chips, with Mr Ronan also warming up a sausage roll, and went to bed at around 7.30pm, with Mr Ronan taking two 30mg tablets of prescribed paroxetine, an anti-depressant.

Ms Kahan said: “We talked quietly about how lucky we both were to have each other and he told me how he would not have been able to cope without my love and care.”

He eventually fell asleep, waking up again at around 3am, saying “something wasn’t right” with him.

Ms Kahan said: “He said his right lung wasn’t working properly.

“He announced that he needed an ambulance, so I called them. He was shouting saying ‘tell them they need to be quick and they need to bring oxygen’.”

Mr Ronan sadly collapsed and died in Ms Kahan’s arms, officially being pronounced dead at Wexham Park Hospital at 4.26am.

The court heard that Mr Ronan had a host of health problems, including empyema, acute pancreatitis and cirrhosis – the latter of which was thought to have contributed to higher than normal levels of paroxetine found in Mr Ronan's blood in a toxicology report since cirrhosis can cause difficulties in metabolising medication like paroxetine, according to pathologist Dr Rick Panigrahi.

Senior coroner for Buckinghamshire Crispin Butler recorded a narrative conclusion, saying: “His death was a direct result of a combination of acute medical conditions and medication toxicity. The latter was caused by a further medical condition.”