EXCLUSIVE
A father-of-two is desperately working to have his brother’s ashes brought home after he was deemed too overweight to be cremated in his home state of Western Australia.
Allan Campbell, 38, a goalkeeper who lived in Perth, died on October 16 after suffering breathing difficulties due to his weight.
He weighed around 330kg at the time of his death and had been hospitalized twice in recent weeks after fainting when he had difficulty breathing.
His brother, Ashtin Campbell, a 34-year-old poultry farmer who lives in Adelaide, said he did not know how seriously Allan’s health had deteriorated until he received a phone call informing him that his brother had died.
Since then, Ashtin has been trying to cremate his brother so he can bring his ashes to Adelaide.
Cremation laws vary by state, but in Western Australia the weight limit for cremation is 350kg, including the weight of the coffin.
Ashtin said the lightest coffin he and his partner could find still weighed 71kg. Ashtin then explored the option of a burial in WA, but that would cost him $11,000.
‘Allan was having difficulties with money and was between jobs. “I was trying to fly him to South Australia before he died but he couldn’t fly due to his breathing problems,” Ashtin told Daily Mail Australia.
Allan Campbell, 38, a goalkeeper who lived in Perth, died on October 16 after suffering breathing difficulties due to his weight.
Allan’s brother Ashtin (pictured left) is trying to arrange his cremation in Adelaide after laws prevented him from being in Western Australia.
He said alternative transportation to take his brother home to South Africa while he was still alive would cost $4,000, and that was not feasible.
“My brother was always a big guy and everyone knew him as Big Al,” Ashtin said.
“We had talked several times about how he was getting healthier and I would change the subject or get angry about his weight.
“When he called me to tell me about the first time he was in the hospital, he told me ‘nothing’s wrong.’ And he didn’t know he weighed 330kg either.
“I didn’t know this was a serious problem until one of the doctors called me and told me he needed help. I was trying to organize his transfer to South Africa, but a few days after speaking to him he died.
Ashtin, who has two children, said he had not seen his older brother in about five years and assumed Allan had gained an extra 100kg during this time.
Allan worked as a security porter and weighed about 330kg at the time of his death.
Allan’s family have been trying to cremate his body, but it has also proven difficult to find a coffin large enough (file image)
“Many family members tried to help him, but in recent years I hadn’t seen him,” she said.
‘I live here (in South Africa) and life gets in the way. Allan was in bad shape and was couch surfing.
Ashtin has been receiving help from his sister, who lives in Queensland, with his father dead and his mother receiving welfare in New Zealand.
“Money is scarce, we work to live and we have no savings,” he said.
“The best case scenario would be to bring him home and cremate him so that if we later return to New Zealand we can take him home with us.”
Ashtin says he only wants his brother’s ashes so he can always be with his family
“I just want the ashes so he can be with us.”
Allan has a 16-year-old daughter and is separated from her mother, who lives in WA.
Ashtin is now confident he has found a way to bring his brother home, but it will cost him about $6,000.
He has been able to find a funeral home in Adelaide that will cremate Allan for $1,000 and repatriating his body from WA is expected to cost another $5,000.
There are no weight limits for cremations in South Africa, but there were concerns about whether Allan could physically fit in a coffin or incinerator.
Ashtin has released a GoFundMe to help cover some of the costs associated with bringing your brother home.
Ashtin said he and other family members had been trying to help Allan get healthier before he passed away.