A popular teenager who had plans to join the Navy died suddenly during a dream trip to South East Asia.
Lee Bartlett, 19, died at a hospital in Laos while two months into his holiday.
His devastated parents said the young man was “living his best life” when he tragically passed away in May last year.
An inquest at Pontypridd Coroners’ Court heard how Mr Bartlett had worked tirelessly to save up enough money to travel to the region.
He had fallen in love with it after his older sister got married there earlier in the year.
Lee was found unresponsive in his bed in the early hours of May 3 in a hostel in Vang Vieng.
He had flown out to the country in March to meet up with friend Flynn Fawcett, who was already backpacking around the world, and the two were travelling through Laos together.
Assistant coroner Nadim Bashir was told how the pair had gone to bed as normal the night before his death when Mr Fawcett woke at around 6am and noticed his friend was “breathing funny”.
He got up to check if Mr Bartlett was okay to find him unresponsive and with blue lips.
Mr Bartlett’s parents Mark and Helen attended the inquest along with his older sister Nadine.
Mr Bartlett described his son as “such a sociable person” who was “bright, intelligent, and popular”.
In a statement read out by Mr Bashim, Mr Bartlett said: “Lee didn’t really enjoy school that much – he was more of an outdoors person.
“He absolutely loved sports – football, athletics, and rugby. We got on so well together.”
Mr Bartlett has a military background and he said it was this that had inspired his son, whose nickname was Barto, to apply to join the Royal Navy.
But leaving school after his GCSEs and aged just 16 he was still too young and so started working hard to save up for travelling.
Mr Bartlett said the close-knit family, who live in Rhoose, Wales, all enjoyed travelling and Lee’s older brother Daniel and sisters Abigail and Nadine had embarked on their own backpacking adventures.
"He was a very hardworking person,” his dad continued. “He passed his driving test at 17 and enjoyed road trips with his friends.
“He was a very fit healthy lad, just a really happy lad and he enjoyed himself.
“My son and daughters all loved going away travelling. His older sister Abigail got married in Thailand in February and he loved it so much he wanted to travel back there.”
Mr Bartlett took any work he could, including at a sausage factory and then a roofing company, in order to go travelling.
“He was gutted because he didn’t know if he would have a job when he got back,” Mr Bartlett added. He was “overjoyed” when the company said they would hold on to his job for him.
Mr Bartlett left for Laos on March 2 and regularly sent pictures and updates of his adventures to his mum Helen.
A post-mortem examination initially showed Mr Bartlett had a heart which was “somewhat unusual” and further investigations were carried out.
The post-mortem examination also showed Mr Bartlett had not suffered any injuries and there was no evidence of assault or restraint.
The subsequent report concluded Mr Bartlett could have been living with an underlying hereditary heart condition, which his brother Daniel also lives with and takes medication for.
A toxicology report found traces of paracetemol, diazepam, and codeine in Mr Bartlett’s muscles and liver which, while consistent with normal use, meant these could not be ruled out as a cause of death.
Doctor Mary Sheppard, an expert cardiac pathologist, also looked at Mr Bartlett’s heart and in her report, read out at the inquest, she said: “If toxicology is negative this should be labelled as a sudden adult death.”
Mr Bashim concluded there was “insufficient evidence” and said he had reached an open conclusion. He said: “In my view there is insufficient evidence to support any other conclusion.”
He recorded the cause of death as “unascertained”. He also noted that the family history was “important in this case”.
He offered his condolences to the family for their “very sad loss”.
