Mother-of-one's Weight Loss Dream Ends Fatally

Khelisyah Ashamu, a 26-year-old mother of one and IT worker from Romford, dreamed of reclaiming her confidence after struggling with her weight and feeling self-conscious about her stomach following a Caesarean section.

In February 2019, the young woman traveled to Izmir, Turkey, for an affordable gastric bypass procedure arranged through Get Slim in Turkey, a medical tourism company run by British expat Tracey Ozdemir.

She paid £3,300 for the surgery and accommodation, hoping it would transform her life.

Tragedy struck swiftly just a few days after the initial operation, Khelisyah fell seriously ill, requiring an exploratory follow-up surgery.

She suffered a cardiac arrest and died in a Turkish hospital on February 9, 2019.

A coroner ruled her cause of death as gastrointestinal ischaemia, a lack of blood flow to the intestines resulting from complications of the surgery.

Her devastated parents, Toyin and Oyebanji Ashamu, refused to let the loss go unchallenged.

They launched a High Court claim against Tracey Ozdemir, trading as Get Slim in Turkey, arguing the company bore responsibility as the organiser of a package travel contract that included the medical procedure and aftercare.

Ozdemir denied liability, but after a trial, senior judge Mrs Justice Obi ruled in the family's favor.

The judge accepted expert evidence of inadequate post-operative monitoring and airway care following the second operation.

Mrs Justice Obi held that Ozdemir, as the package organiser, was liable for the proper performance of the surgery and aftercare.

She awarded the Ashamu family £858,000 in damages for their daughter's estate.

Addressing the parents directly in court, the judge said: "I recognise how difficult these proceedings must have been for you and I offer my sincere condolences for the loss of your daughter. Of course, nothing this court can do can lessen that loss for you and your family, but I hope the conclusion of these proceedings will bring some measure of consolation."