A Texas nurse found herself in a dire situation while on her honeymoon in Japan, just after celebrating her “dream wedding.”
Sarah Danh, 27, tied the knot with Luke Gradl, 28, on March 21. Gradl described the occasion as Danh’s perfect wedding, according to an interview with PEOPLE.
However, the couple’s romantic getaway took a drastic turn when, merely two days into their Tokyo trip, Danh was hospitalized with acute liver failure.
“When we checked into our hotel on the afternoon of April 8, Sarah wasn’t feeling well,” Gradl shared. “We decided to take it easy since our itinerary included 16 days in Japan, so a half-day of rest seemed manageable.”
By April 9, Danh’s condition worsened rapidly. Gradl rushed her to the hospital just before midnight, where she was admitted to the emergency room. Her condition was so severe that she was transferred to the ICU the following day.
As a labor and delivery nurse, Danh now faces her own health battle, suffering from symptoms such as jaundice, vomiting, fever, body aches, and severe hepatic encephalopathy, a critical decline in brain function due to severe liver disease.
When the liver is unable to filter toxins from the blood, they build up and affect the brain’s ability to function, which can lead to unresponsiveness, coma or even death, according to the Mayo Clinic.
At the same time, Gradl said, Danh was experiencing failing kidneys and intracranial brain pressure – on top of her acute liver failure.
Sarah Danh, 27, married Luke Gradl, 28, on March 21 in what Gradl described as Danh’s ‘dream wedding that she worked tirelessly on every day for over a year’
The couple were just two days into their honeymoon in Japan when Danh was rushed to the hospital, where she was diagnosed with acute liver failure
The shocking health decline came without any warning, Gradl said, noting that she seemed perfectly healthy at the wedding.
Gradl has remained by his new wife’s side in the weeks since Danh was admitted to the hospital.
Her mother, Le Le, also joined the couple in Japan to offer ‘moral support,’ as the newlyweds battled a foreign healthcare system.
An online fundraiser to help them with their medical bills noted that ‘In Japan, hospital bills must be paid in full or treatments will be stopped, which adds another layer of stress to an already overwhelming situation.’
The fundraiser, which has netted over $173,500 for the couple, also sought donations to help them pay for a medical flight to bring Danh back to the United States.
Their prayers were finally answered this week, as they announced Danh was being flown from Japan back to Texas in a medical evacuation flight that was scheduled to land on Tuesday – exactly one month after the couple exchanged vows.
Video obtained by News 4 San Antonio showed Danh strapped onto a stretcher on a runway in Japan, surrounded by monitors, machines and a medical team working to keep her stable for the flight.
A transplant team will then be waiting for Danh’s arrival when she lands back in the United States.
Danh was being flown from Japan back to Texas in a medical evacuation flight that was scheduled to land on Tuesday
Danh’s flight back home was organized by AirMed and Danh’s employer, Methodist Hospital Stone Oak, as well as HCA Healthcare.
Gradl and Le, Danh’s mother, said the companies’ generosity means more to us than we can put into words.
‘A huge thank you to the medical team in Japan – the doctors and nurses who worked nonstop to keep Sarah stable up until evacuation. We’ll never forget your care and dedication,’ they said in a statement.
‘To the AirMed team, thank you for moving so quickly and making everything come together when it really mattered most. You made a real difference for us.
‘We’re also so thankful to the team in San Antonio for being ready and waiting for Sarah,’ the family added. ‘Knowing she was going into such good hands brought us peace during a very uncertain time.’
The family also said they are ‘beyond grateful to those who have prayed or donated to support Danh’s recovery.
Gradl, her new husband, has stayed by her side as she remained in the Intensive Care Unit
‘Whether we know you personally or you reached out from somewhere far away, your kindness, prayers and support helped carry us through one of the hardest times in our lives. You gave us comfort, strength and hope when we needed it most.
‘And most of all, thank you to our family for being there every step of the way. Your love and support kept us going through it all. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for standing with us.’
But even though Danh is now set to return home and is in stable condition, she is not yet out of the woods as the cause of her sudden health decline is still unclear.
Her family said further medical testing and evaluations will take place once she is back in the US.
The Daily Mail has reached out to AirMed, Methodist Hospital Stone Oak and HCA Healthcare for comment.
