Dave Crocos: Australian father dies after being struck by mysterious illness during dream holiday cruise
- Dave Crocos, 68, dies in Brisbane
- Tropical virus contracted during cruise
- READ MORE: Grandfather’s plight
A grandfather who was at the center of a desperate medical evacuation after contracting a mysterious virus during a unique cruise has died surrounded by loved ones.
Dave Crocos, 68, succumbed to severe organ failure in a Brisbane hospital after contracting the tropical disease during a holiday cruise from Los Angeles to Sydney via Hawaii, French Polynesia, Tahiti and Auckland, with his wife Jo.
Son Mathew Bierberg said Mr Crocos, who had only recently retired as a surveyor in Perth, was a loving and caring father.
Perth grandfather Dave Crocos, 68, (pictured right with wife Jo) has died surrounded by loved ones after being struck by a mystery illness while on a Pacific cruise
The stunned family said Crocos appeared to be in good condition before the unexplained illness struck.
He had even passed a health check before leaving Australia without any real concerns.
“This is all a big shock because we expected him to enjoy another 20 years and we hoped he could finally enjoy the retirement he has worked hard for all his life,” Mr Bierberg told Seven News.
‘He had a heart of gold and was a very kind, generous man. He was very dedicated to his work and sports.
‘He was always ready to help those in need. He taught me so much.’
Mr Bierberg said his daughter Zahara was devastated.
‘He spoiled her rotten because she was the only grandchild. She is really going to miss her father,” Mr. Bierberg said.
‘He will be truly missed and Christmas won’t be the same this year.
“He will be here in our hearts.”
Mr. Crocos boarded the Majestic Princess cruise ship on OOn October 8, but shortly after leaving Hawaii, his health deteriorated.
After the cruise ship made a hasty detour to American Samoa, Mr Crocos was hospitalized as his family desperately tried to get him back to Australia.
Mr Crocos (pictured center left with his wife Jo) had left on the cruise apparently in good health
He began developing fever and aches and pains and spent a week bedridden in his cabin before cruise doctors decided he needed hospital treatment.
The cruise ship made a hasty detour to American Samoa, where Mr. Crocos was admitted to the LBJ Tropical Medicine Center on Pago Pago Island on Oct. 25.
However, the center was not equipped to deal with his condition and in a desperate race against time, his family was able to fly him back to Brisbane after a planned medevac flight to New Zealand had to be canceled.
After a grueling flight, Mr Crocos arrived in Brisbane on November 4.
The grieving family returned to Perth on Thursday and Mr Crocos’ body will be returned to the WA capital on Friday while funeral preparations are made.