Two brothers from Stoke-on-Trent have died within days of one another, leaving their family reeling from an almost unimaginable loss. Chris Rogers, 42, passed away on June 19, just four days after the sudden death of his younger brother, Dave, 37. His partner described how the older brother 'called out' for his sibling shortly before passing away himself, according to Stoke on Trent Live.
Sudden Aneurysm Claims Dave
Both men, known locally for their warmth and easy humour, had appeared in good health only months earlier. They lived in the same block of flats in Hanley and were regarded as inseparable. Their lives changed abruptly when Dave was taken ill without warning.
“Dave had an aneurysm out of nowhere,” described Chris’s partner, Claire Louise-Meigh, speaking with The Sentinel. “We were having a laugh and a joke with him. Then he just stopped, paused, and dropped. His face drooped and his pupil blew. A blood vessel had burst in his brain. He had to have a 13-hour surgery to try to save his life. But when he came out of it, he was brain-dead. There was nothing more they could do.”
Chris's Health Battle
Sadly, Chris was also fighting his own health battle. “It all started about six months ago. A scan revealed that part of Chris’s liver was damaged. They said it would regenerate over time. He was getting bad infections because his liver wasn’t filtering any of the toxins out of his blood. That ended up damaging his kidneys. Because they were both knackered, his body couldn’t get rid of stuff like it needed to. It was slowly poisoning him. Then he started getting really bad problems with excess fluid in his body. It was building up in his legs, his arms, his stomach, and his chest. It was everywhere. He started struggling to breathe. We got told that it looked like he was starting to improve. His liver appeared to be healing. If that got sorted, then his body could start looking after itself again. But then he died less than 24 hours later.”
Devastating Loss
Losing the well-known brothers in such a short period has been described as 'absolutely awful' by Claire, as she remembered Chris died calling out for his brother. The 46-year-old explained: “It’s the worst thing I’ve ever had to go through. Just terrible. Chris died shouting out for his brother. He was never allowed to see his little brother before he passed away, because he was too ill. They never got to say goodbye. I think that just made Chris give up. There was only four days between them. It’s just devastating. How does that even happen? I’ve never experienced a week filled with loss like this before. It’s just surreal. They both seemed fine a few weeks ago and we were all enjoying our normal lives. Now they’ve both just gone in the blink of an eye.”
She added: “Chris was a brilliant, gentle giant. He was my soulmate. He was just an amazingly brilliant man. Everyone Chris met loved him. Because he just loved life. When I put the news that he’d died on Facebook, so many people reached out. Thousands of people commented and reacted to the post. The pair of them were amazing. They got on like a house on fire. They were so funny, it was unreal. They were forever playing tricks on each other. You couldn’t not sit there and laugh watching them wind each other up. I lived with Chris, and Dave lived in the flat above us. We used to shout up at him and he’d shout back down at us. We had some right laughs.”
Joint Funeral and Fundraiser
Chris and Dave’s family are preparing to give the brothers a joint send-off and have set up an online fundraiser to help cover the unexpected costs. Claire added: “Their mum is absolutely beside herself. Nobody should have to bury a child. Never mind burying two at the same time. Their dad can’t be around anyone at the moment because it’s all just too raw for him. And their older brother just can’t believe he’s lost both of his siblings.”
