“I'm away to see the tooth fairy” – that was the last message sent by a dad of three to his family before he died after travelling to Turkey for dental treatment.
Businessman Tony Rogers (66), who owned Tony's Cabs in Drogheda, Co Louth, died tragically while in Istanbul for tooth implants in April 2022.
Today's News in 90 seconds - 23rd February 2024
His heartbroken family are now urging others to think twice about the risks before going abroad for any treatment.
Ahead of the second anniversary of his death, the popular taxi boss’s children say they will never give up until they know all the answers.
“He was our dad and the best dad ever, and his grandchildren miss him terribly as well,” says grieving daughter Gillian.
“To anyone thinking of getting cosmetic or any kind of treatment or surgery abroad – please think twice or research a thousand times. There are different rules and medical training in different countries .
“You might be saving a lot of money but how much is a life worth?”
Gillian, her sister Eleanor and brother David say they received conflicting results from post-mortem examinations carried out in Turkey and in Ireland.
They say the cause of death was ruled as cardiac arrest in Turkey, while an Irish post mortem examination, carried out at the request of his children when he was repatriated, attributed his death to respiratory failure due to anaesthetic.
“He didn't go to Turkey because of cosmetic surgery – he went because he needed dental implants and the cost advertised is a fraction of the massive prices they are here,” said Gillian.
“He was such a nervous patient and he was sold a package with all the bells and whistles and told he would be given a general anaesthetic, so he would be asleep and wouldn't feel a thing during the process.
Mr Rogers travelled to Istanbul on his own on April 4, 2022, and the next morning at 8am sent a message to his family saying he was 'away to see the tooth fairy."
That was the last message his family ever got from him.
Mr Rogers died shortly after. Staff at the dental clinic rushed him to hospital, but he was dead on arrival. The Turkish police contacted the Irish embassy, which asked gardaí in Drogheda to break the horrific news.
“We just didn't believe it. We were convinced it was all a mistake. Only a few hours earlier, he sent a message to say he was off to see the tooth fairy and now we were hearing that he was dead,” said Gillian.
“We were just numb. We didn't know what to do. We rang the Irish embassy and they provided us with consular assistance but not a lot of information on how to get him home. My brother and nephew flew out to Turkey to see what they could do.
“We are not going to stop fighting until we get all the answers. We are a very determined and strong family.”
“We had no idea how to get him home until a family member mentioned the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust, who were just amazing. They knew what to do and took care of everything.
“We were told because it was Turkey and it was outside the EU, it would be a month before we got him home. The Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust had him home in a couple of days.
“We were advised to get Dad to the Dublin City Morgue and get our own autopsy so we did that and only got the results of both the Irish and Turkish examinations last September.
“We were told that he had died of a cardiac arrest in the Turkish autopsy, but the Irish one concluded it was the anaesthetic that was to blame. All we want is to know how our father died that day.
“We are not going to stop fighting until we get all the answers. We are a very determined and strong family.
“We know there is a long road ahead but we aren't giving up until we can find out what happened and why.
“Dad used to love the Beatles and we used to joke that he worked eight days a week!
“He was such a hardworking man and his customers were his family, he held them in that high esteem. He was always involved in fundraising for local charities
The family are holding a memorial night for Mr Rogers in Grennan's Bar in Drogheda on May 8, with all proceeds going to the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust.
