'He was very romantic': Mumbai-based family heartbroken as Akl man passes away in medical emergency

Friends of Edward have set up a Givealittle page to support the family. To contribute, click here.

“It was never Ed and Sereena, it was always EdSeree,” Sereena D’Souza, wife of Edward, said,  still trying to make sense of the loss that has shattered her world.

“He was very romantic.”

“He stole my heart and took it away… but his heart is still with me,” she told The Indian Weekender.

Edward Gonsalves, 36, became unresponsive after suffering a brain stroke on Saturday evening, according to his wife. The night before the incident,  he had spent his last evening with his friend Anirudh .

“Ed’s heart stopped and emergency services performed CPR on him, and when a pulse was found, they put him on manual oxygen,” Sereena explained, who had called the emergency services. 

Edward was transported to Auckland Hospital, where he underwent surgery and was later placed on a ventilator. Three-and-a-half days later, doctors declared him brain dead after determining he was not breathing on his own, according to his close friend Anirudh.

“His heart and lungs were functional, but he was brain dead,” Anirudh said, recalling the call he received from Sereena on Saturday evening when Edward became unresponsive.

“The doctors pinched him, tried to wake him up while he was on the ventilator to check for signs of response, but he was not reacting,” Sereena said.

Friends and family describe Edward as a warm, social person who was loved by everyone around him.

“He was a social person,” Sereena said.

Sereena moved to New Zealand in 2023 to join Edward, who had earlier arrived as an international student. He initially worked at a leading hotel in Auckland before moving into an office-based role after his wife’s arrival.

A love story for the books

“Edward wanted to turn our love story into a book,” Sereena said.

The couple had known each other since childhood through family connections in Mumbai.

“He did not like me when we were kids. Our relatives used to tease him that Sereena and Edward would get married when they grew older,” she recalled fondly.

“You know, I was chubby as a kid, and he used to get irritated when our relatives teased us.”

What began as childhood familiarity bloomed into a relationship years later when the pair reconnected in 2016 as adults. They married in 2018.

“Since then we were in a long-distance marriage till I arrived in New Zealand in 2023,” Sereena said.

She remembers Edward as someone who always liked to “look his best” and genuinely enjoyed going to work every day.

“He loved jackets, watches, glasses, boots…”

Sereena lovingly remembers him as a husband who would often take her out on dates. 

Edward’s family in Mumbai has been informed and, according to Sereena, “are not holding up well”.

Friends said Edward had previously suffered a stroke in 2022 that resulted in facial palsy, but he later recovered.

“Doctors said that this stroke wasn’t related to the previous stroke. This was just bad luck,” Sereena said.

A Salman Khan fan, loved by all

For Edward’s loved ones, the past few days have been difficult to process.

“The vibe with Edward was different. He was such a wholehearted person,” Anirudh told The Indian Weekender.

“Lovely, lovely soul.”

Remembered as deeply “helpful, friendly and caring”, Edward’s family said 70 people visited the hospital to see him, including employers from overseas and colleagues from different regions, with some cutting short holidays to be there.

“His boss called me up and told me that the office is very quiet without Edward,” Sereena said.

“If you met him for a minute, or knew him for years, one would always want to meet him again and again.”

A devoted Salman Khan fan, Edward was also known among friends for his love of cooking and feeding people.

Sereena and Edward’s friends are now raising funds to take him back to Mumbai to be with his elderly parents and to perform his final rites.

Friends of Edward have set up a Givealittle page to support the family. To contribute, click here.