We’re spending Christmas Day at my sister’s grave after dodgy BBL killed her- her 3 boys still wake up & ask for ‘mummy’

WHEN Chloe Agoglia was jolted awake by a text message from her sister’s partner in the early hours of the morning, nothing could’ve prepared her for the shock that was to come.

The three simple words, “she has gone” would shatter Chloe and her family’s lives forever and leave three young children without a mum.

Chloe’s older sister Demi, 26, a woman who her family describe as ‘beautiful’ and the ‘glue’ which held them together, was in Turkey after having controversial Brazillian Butt Lift (BBL) surgery.

She’d collapsed earlier in the day, just three days following the four-and-a-half-hour long procedure, and died within hours.

A recent inquest concluded that Demi’s cause of death was a ‘microscopic fat embolism’ where injected fat which is used to create a fuller, more pronounced bottom, enters the bloodstream.

Now, the family are dreading their first Christmas without Demi, and Chloe, 23, lives with regret, revealing how she wished she had tried harder to talk her out of the operation in January this year.

She says: “Demi first started mentioning the surgery a month before and we told her not to go for it because she didn’t need it. 

“We didn’t really know all the risks, we knew it was a high-risk surgery but we didn’t know what would happen. We told Demi we weren’t happy about it but she booked it and we had to stand by her decision. 

“I was nervous for her but when I told her I was worried she told me everything would be fine.”

Eleven months on from their loss, the family struggle to comprehend that Demi won’t be here to celebrate Christmas with them.

“We are dreading it,” says Chloe. 

“My heart breaks for the boys, I can’t imagine how they will be feeling.

“If Demi knew she was going to leave the boys behind, she’d never have gone.

“She was the best mum, she was always out with them and did everything with the boys- making sure everything was special for them.”

Demi was one of more than one million people worldwide who travel to Turkey for cosmetic surgery annually.

Whilst Chloe doesn’t know how much her sister paid for the flights and surgery combined, procedures cost between 50 and 70 per cent less in Turkey than elsewhere in the world.

Those who undergo a BBL overseas are said to pay under £3,000 – less than half the cost for similar procedures in the UK – and are lured in with slick social media posts offering the perfect body at a discount price.

But a growing number of patients are needing corrective treatment on returning to the UK, either from the results of the surgery or to treat life-threatening complications from procedures.

I couldn’t stop thinking she must have been scared. I rang my siblings who all came round and thought about the boys, who were on holiday, and how we would have to tell them their mummy had died.

Chloe Agoglia

Clinics have been slammed for poor pre- and post-op care as well as failing to give patients enough information beforehand about potential risks.

At Demi’s inquest in Bolton earlier this month, Coroner John Pollard ruled her death was a result of ‘misadventure contributed to by neglect’ and that Demi had not given properly informed consent prior to surgery, which he labelled “barbaric”. 

Chloe is certain her sister did not know the risks of the operation and would never have consented if she had been aware.

She says: “Demi didn’t understand the risks. I know she would never have gone ahead with something if she knew the boys could lose her. 

“I just wish she would have researched more about it and had a full understanding of it. These clinics just think about money, not the risk of someone losing their life.”

The BBL surgery Demi chose to have is notoriously dangerous, with the highest death rate of all cosmetic procedures.

It is banned in the UK, leaving those who want it to seek surgery overseas. 

‘A beautiful girl’

Chloe, who has a son, aged two, says Demi felt her body changed after having her children which prompted her to have surgery.

She explains: “Demi was unhappy with her body. She would never leave the house without a jumper around her waist.

“She felt rubbish in herself and was fairly down. She wanted to better herself.

“She was upset with her bum and her stomach after having three children – but she was a beautiful girl, she didn’t need surgery.”

Demi came across social media posts of people who’d had the procedure, after giving birth to her third child, now one.

One of eight siblings, Chloe recalls how Demi excitedly prepared to fly to Turkey for the surgery in Istanbul, in January.

This time last year was the final time she and her older sister Georgina, 31, spent time with Demi, and they say the mum was in good spirits.

The last ‘I love you’

However, Georgina was in the dark about her sister’s upcoming trip.

“We had drinks over Christmas at Demi’s house,” she explains. “She didn’t like the look of herself but I didn’t know she was planning surgery. If I would have known, I would have asked her why, because she didn’t need it and was beautiful. I would have told her not to go.”

On January 4 Demi flew out to Turkey with her partner Brad but stayed in constant contact with her family from the clinic, updating them as she landed and arrived at the hotel and had bloods taken before the surgery.

On the day, she messaged before the procedure and again as soon as she woke up.

Chloe recalls: “I was nervous, but when she woke up she was happy. She was in a bit of pain and she hadn’t seen her bum yet because it was bandaged, but I was so happy when I saw her on video call.”

Chloe and Demi stayed in touch daily during the three days she recovered in Turkey.

I spoke to a girl who’d had her boobs done, told her about Demi and told her to be so careful.

Chloe Agoglia

It was the night before Demi was due to fly home when the sisters last spoke, Chloe oblivious to the fact it would be the last time she would hear her sister’s voice.

“She was really happy – she’d seen her bum and said it looked amazing,” Chloe explains. 

“We chatted a bit more and ended the call by saying ‘love you’.”

But later that night, Chloe and her mum got a call from Brad, explaining Demi had collapsed at the hotel where they were staying and was in hospital.

Hours later, Chloe received the devastating news Demi had died.

She recalls: “I couldn’t stop thinking she must have been scared. I rang my siblings who all came round and thought about the boys, who were on holiday, and how we would have to tell them their mummy had died.”

As the rest of the family tried to come to terms with the news from afar, Chloe and her elder brother Anthony, 43, made the painstaking trip to Turkey to identify Demi’s body and bring her home.

In the hospital morgue, Chloe was able to read Demi a letter from her sons and tell her how much she loved her.

Chloe describes the flight back to the UK as being the “hardest of my life” because it was full of people who had undergone successful surgery.

She says: “It was really hard. It was full of people, of all ages, who’d had surgery. I spoke to a girl who’d had her boobs done, told her about Demi and told her to be so careful.”

At home in Manchester, the family had to endure a post mortem before organising Demi’s funeral, attended by hundreds of people.

Every day is hard

Now, as they face the pain of their first Christmas without Demi, they are desperate for no one else to endure what they’ve had to go through this year.

Chloe says: “I would say never, ever get surgery, it’s not worth it. I’m angry because I think these clinics just think about money, not the risk of someone losing their life. I want people to know the risks and want them to think about their loved ones, as well as themselves.

“Months after we lost Demi we saw messages on Demi’s phone between her and the clinic.

“She’d asked if she would definitely see a difference or if there were any risks involved. The clinic staff reassured her she would be safe in their care.

“But the coroner thought she couldn’t have given properly informed consent and that’s really hard. 

“People don’t think it will happen to them, but they have to know the risks. Now every day is hard.”

It feels like I’ve lost my whole childhood and our family hasn’t been the same since we lost her. She was the crazy glue which kept us all together.

Georgina Snape

Heartbreakingly, Chloe and the family are now trying to keep Demi’s memory alive for her sons, aged ten, four and one, as they face Christmas without their mum.

Chloe says: “The boys are spending Christmas with me and we will open presents in the morning and then take a gift to Demi’s resting place so they can talk to their mum.

“The younger two still wake up in the morning wanting their mum. We look through pictures and videos all the time and tell them how much she loved them.”

Call to ban cosmetic tourism

The three sisters were very close and Georgina, the eldest, is pregnant and plans to name her unborn daughter Hallie Demi-Leigh.

She says: “Losing Demi is a pain like no other, I miss her. She was the type of person you couldn’t stay mad at because she would just make you laugh. It feels like I’ve lost my whole childhood and our family hasn’t been the same since we lost her.

“She was the crazy glue which kept us all together. She had a heart of gold and loved her boys.”

Georgina is calling for ‘cosmetic tourism’ to be banned altogether but in the meantime she urges women to think hard before they consider surgery overseas.

“I want people to think about the risks, about their loved ones who would suffer without them. I want them to do their research and then do some more research,” she says.

“Surgery abroad should be banned, no surgery is worth a life. Nothing will ever bring back Demi or make it right that she’s gone, but spreading awareness so some other family doesn’t have to go through this pain and suffering is a start.”