Heartbreaking voicemail for daughter hours before dad’s unexpected death
Tim Ramsay’s one wish for his daughter’s wedding was to be healthy enough to walk her down the aisle.
As a truckie, he had spent years on the road and his unhealthy lifestyle had caught up with him.
Tim Ramsay’s one wish for his daughter’s wedding was to be healthy enough to walk her down the aisle. A Current Affair
So he started on a weight-loss jab to surprise Elyse.
He never got the chance to see her get married.
Four years ago, at the age of 58, he died on the bathroom floor after 40 minutes of CPR.
Hours earlier he had been rushed to the Royal Adelaide Hospital by his daughter Elyse.
“He was hanging onto his stomach the entire time and that was very unlike him,” she said.
The long-haul truck driver from South Australia had always been a tough cookie but a softie on the inside.
“He was always so willing to tell people how he felt about them and that he loved them,” Elyse said.
“He was very much, you know, have a cup of cement and harden up, you know, ex-farmer, truck driver fellow.”
But on the day he died, Tim knew something was wrong.
He left a voicemail for Elyse.
“Hey bub, it’s Dad here, I’m down at the depot with the truck, would you be able to come down and take me to hospital, please? Thank you,” he said.
“When I was frantically driving to collect him, to take him to hospital, Mum called me and said, ‘Don’t worry, I think it’s just these new drugs he’s on’,” Elyse said.
That drug was Saxenda, a GLP-1 weight loss prescription injectable, that has now been ripped from shelves.
“It was going to be a surprise for me for Christmas that he had lost a lot of weight,” she said.
Elyse Ramsay drove her dad to the Royal Adelaide Hospital. A Current Affair
After 19 days of injecting the drug daily, Tim was experiencing excruciating stomach pain, a common side effect of Saxenda.
“They did every test that you would expect,” Elyse said.
“All of his results came back clear.
“They didn’t think it was life-threatening, and they thought it was just a virus and that he needed rest.”
Tim was discharged from hospital and died that evening.
“I just want to know why my dad isn't here to walk me down the aisle next year,” Elyse said.
But Elyse and her mum Sue will never know because Tim's death has been ruled “undetermined”.
“Because he died within 24 hours of being released from hospital, his death was automatically reported to the coroner, they did a full post-mortem, they found nothing,” Elyse said.
Elyse pushed for an inquest, but that was declined.
Instead, a review was conducted.
“After a very long wait, that report also came back with ‘undetermined’,” Elyse said.
Tim on his wedding day with his wife Sue. A Current Affair
“We've just been asked to accept that we don't know and that we'll never know.”
When Elyse discovered nine other deaths had been reported as being associated with Saxenda in Australia between 2019 and 2026, she spoke out.
“I believe he is the 10th death,” she said.
“How many more deaths out there that are linked to Saxenda that we just don’t know about?
“Is there a commonality between these people? How can we prevent this from happening again?”
She wants to use her grief for good.
“If you’re in your early days, like Dad was, and you’re really not feeling well, please go back and see your GP,” she said.
“Make the time, book the appointment, don't push through, it's not worth it.”
Elyse wants more research to be done into adverse reactions from this class of GLP-1 drugs.
“Did they all have a penicillin allergy like Dad?” she said.
“Did they all have a history of bowel disease like Dad?
“Is there a particular class of people that these drugs are simply not suitable for and the outcome can be fatal for them?”
Royal Australian College of General Practitioners Obesity Western Australia lead Dr Mark Mellor said there had been tens of thousands of patients taken through clinical trials to look at safety and efficacy of such treatments.
Elyse said Tim was taking Saxenda, a GLP-1 weight loss prescription injectable. A Current Affair
“There are significant benefits to the use of these medications in people living with obesity,” Mellor said.
“But like every medication, it doesn't mean they'll be safe for every single person.”
Three years after Tim's death, Saxenda manufacturer Novo Nordisk announced it was discontinuing the drug.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration said that was a commercial decision and told A Current Affair “all medicines, including Saxenda, carry potential risks”.
“Most of these are minor, but sometimes, in rare circumstances, they can be potentially serious,” the TGA said.
“The TGA applies scientific and clinical expertise to its decision-making.”
In a statement Novo Nordisk said “patient safety is a top priority for Novo Nordisk, and we take all reports about adverse events from the use of our medicines very seriously.
“The decision to discontinue Saxenda® in Australia was not related to reports of adverse events,” the company said.
“Saxenda® remains available in other countries around the world.”
The long-haul truck driver from South Australia had always been a tough cookie but a softie on the inside. A Current Affair
None of that is any comfort for a grieving daughter, trying to find sense in her dad's death.
“He was everything to us,” Elyse said.
“He was determined to be healthy by Christmas for me.
“Yeah, it's what keeps me up at night.”
Statement from Saxenda parent company Novo Nordisk
Patient safety is a top priority for Novo Nordisk, and we take all reports about adverse events from the use of our medicines very seriously.
Any reported adverse event is evaluated by qualified pharmacovigilance (PV) and medical professionals and reported to regulators, including the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), in accordance with local regulatory requirements.
We encourage balanced and responsible reporting that clearly distinguishes between reported adverse events and established causality to help ensure audiences receive accurate, balanced and appropriately contextualised information.
Saxenda® (liraglutide) was listed on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG) in December 2015, and was available in Australia for over 10 years.
Saxenda® is a GLP-1 receptor agonist, a class of medicine that has been used to treat type 2 diabetes for more than 16 years and for treatment of obesity for more than nine years.
The decision to discontinue Saxenda® in Australia was not related to reports of adverse events.
In December 2025, following careful consideration, Novo Nordisk made the decision to discontinue Saxenda® in Australia.
This decision aligns with Novo Nordisk's commitment to providing innovative treatment for people living with overweight and obesity, with Wegovy® (semaglutide 2.4 mg), our once weekly treatment available in Australia since August 2025.
Saxenda® remains available in other countries around the world.
Generic versions of Saxenda® have been listed on the ARTG since March 2025.
Pharmaceutical medications should only be prescribed under the guidance of a treating medical practitioner.”
Statement from the Therapeutic Good Administration
The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) is aware of Mr Ramsay’s passing and we extend our deepest sympathies to his family.
The TGA approves and regulates medicines, medical devices and other therapeutic products based on an assessment of risks against benefits.
We continue to monitor the safety of these products after they are registered and enter the market.
All medicines, including Saxenda (liraglutide), carry potential risks.
Most of these are minor, but sometimes, in rare circumstances, they can be potentially serious.
The TGA applies scientific and clinical expertise to its decision-making to ensure that the benefits of a product, when used for the approved indications and in the intended population, outweigh any risks.
The TGA regularly reviews and analyses reports of side effects (also known as adverse events) submitted by health professionals, consumers and pharmaceutical companies to detect patterns of reporting that indicate possible new safety information requiring investigation.
The TGA assesses the strength of the evidence for a causal link between a medical condition and a medicine at a population level, rather than for an individual.
These investigations do not focus solely on single adverse event reports.
For example, an investigation may consider a group of similar adverse event reports alongside evidence from clinical trials or other studies.
Where the evidence indicates that a medicine is likely to cause a particular medical condition, the TGA takes action.
In the most serious circumstances, this might result in the medicine being withdrawn or changes to how it is used.
More commonly, it involves adding warnings in the Product Information and Consumer Medicine Information documents (which contain information about the safe and effective use of the medicine) and publishing safety information for health professionals and consumers to manage and mitigate the identified risks.
For reports where a death has occurred, the TGA does not determine the medical condition that caused the death.
Instead, it relies on the findings of the coroner or treating health professionals.
The TGA does not speculate or preempt the findings of a coroner.
Further information about how the TGA monitors the safety of therapeutic goods is available on our website at: www.tga.gov.au/safety/safety.
In relation to the discontinuation of Saxenda from the Australian market, this was a commercial decision made by the sponsor Novo Nordisk.
Any questions on reasons for this decision should be sent to Novo Nordisk.
Statement from the Coroners Court
The Coroners Court is unable to comment publicly on individual matters.
Recent contact has been made with the family.
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