‘The best dad in the world’ dies while caring for his three daughters: The one thing he made sure of before he took his final breath as his final phone call is revealed
Aussie dad Shaun Skinner and his fiancé had just started to plan their wedding for next year after 14 years together and three daughters when he died in their family home.
The 36-year-old was taking care of two of the girls on August 4 when his pacemaker, which he had been fitted with nearly two decades before, went off.
He rang fiancé Ashlee Tyrrell about 1pm from the family home in Melbourne’s south-east suburb of Rowville to alert her and she left work.
‘We had had no hiccups since his diagnosis at 17-years-old,’ she told Daily Mail on Tuesday.
‘He got a pacemaker put in and everything was fine. He was going to his specialist every year.’
As she was driving home, she rang him to say she was on the way and he told her he thought it was a panic attack. She said she wasn’t far.
‘I got a phone call from Ambulance Victoria and they told me Shaun had called an ambulance but he was terrified because he was home alone with that two daughters, so the three year old and the seven year old,’ she said.
‘He didn’t want them to be scared or alone. So I got off the phone and I called my dad who got there quickly because it was just around the corner from his work.’
Shaun Skinner (pictured, centre) died after a heart attack while he was looking after his two youngest daughters at home in Rowville, Victoria, on August 4
His fiancé Ashlee Tyrrell said he only lost consciousness after he knew his daughters were being taken care of by their grandfather
When Ashlee’s father arrived, he lost consciousness.
‘Shaun lost consciousness when he knew his girls were taken care of. He waited and then he never regained consciousness again,’ she said.
‘When the paramedics got there, my three year old was lying on her dad but I’m forever grateful because they never got to see the scary part.’
Mr Skinner was found lying on his bed but was moved to another room before paramedics began attempts to resuscitate him.
By the time Ms Tyrrell reached the home, he was unresponsive after what is now known to have been a fatal heart attack.
The couple, who had met while working at the manufacturer Stegbar in 2011, shared three daughters Sophie, Violet and Everly, between nine and three-years-old.
‘I knew then that I didn’t want Shaun to come back if he wasn’t going to be Shaun. I started preparing myself,’ she said.
Paramedics had been attempting to resuscitate Mr Skinner for 45 minutes and told her they would have to stop after an hour had passed.
‘So 15 minutes later, they told me they were sorry, but there was nothing more they could do. I had my very sad moment. Then my brain went to my kids,’ she said.
Ms Tyrrell’s father collected her nine-year-old from school while the two other daughters said goodbye to their father.
Ms Tyrrell (pictured) said the couple were due to get married next year after 14 years together
Mr Skinner is survived by his fiancé Ms Tyrrell and his three daughters (pictured)
‘I knew I’ve got to do this right, my kids need to say him to say goodbye. They need to do it now, while he still looks like Daddy,’ she said.
‘It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do in my life.
‘My dad told my nine-year-old and I heard her scream from the car. Then she ran to me and I hugged her. I took her in and she said goodbye.’
Ms Tyrrell has taken time off work to care for her daughters until she can make sure they are well enough for her to return.
She and Mr Skinner fell in love at first sight in 2011 and were engaged a year later but held off getting married until their girls were old enough to be involved in the wedding.
‘We’d only just started planning so we didn’t have much set. Instead, I get to plan his funeral,’ she said.
‘Shaun was the best dad in the world. He was funny, he made everyone laugh and that was his main thing in life. He loved to make people happy.
‘We’re absolutely heartbroken and devastated but I can’t change it so I’m just trying to make sure that I do the right thing for the kids.’
Ms Tyrrell and her daughters have moved out of the rental to stay with her parents in Pakenham after the ordeal.
Friends have organised a GoFundMe page, which has already raised $38,842, to help financially support the grieving family.
They also created an email account for Ms Tyrrell and the girls for people to share words of support and memories of Shaun which will be consolidated into a book.
