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Tribute: Tom Reid

9 December 2009

Following the inquest into the tragic death of first-year undergraduate Tom Reid (UCL Linguistics) in September 2009 from Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome, his parents Halina and Antony Reid have released a statement.

Tom Reid

"Tom was an amazing individual. He loved life; he loved his family and friends. Academically brilliant, he achieved a highly prestigious place at UCL, studying Linguistics. He achieved the very highest grades at A-level and simultaneously, he was awarded a national award for public speaking - the Voice of the Future. Voted 'Personality of the Year' at his Leavers Prom in Y13, he was adored by all. He had a brilliant life ahead of him. We were, and we remain, tremendously proud of our precious son.  

"We are extremely grateful for the support we have been given by our family, friends and colleagues. Thank you also to everyone who desperately tried to help Tom on the night.

"Prior to Tom's death we had never heard of Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome, or SADS for short. We still find it incomprehensible, how a fit and healthy young man - with no previous medical issues - can just collapse and die. However, thanks to the support of a charitable organisation called 'Cardiac Risk In The Young', or CRY for short, we were able to learn more about SADS and what happened to our beloved Tom. We encourage all young people and parents not to be complacent and visit the CRY website for more information."

To read the Reids' full statement, follow the link at the top of this article.