A critically ill US nurse who suffered acute liver failure during her honeymoon in Japan and had to be brought home through a medevac flight is showing signs of improvement, according to her family.
Sarah Danh, 27, was brought to San Antonio, Texas, after being hospitalized in Japan and remains in a coma.
In an update yesterday, her uncle shared some “encouraging news” and said on Facebook, “Over the past few days, Sarah has shown signs of improvement.”
Khang Le said that Danh remains on the ventilator but has “begun taking a few weak breaths on her own.” Apart from this, she is also lightly responsive, and nodded weakly when her mother asked if she could hear her.
In March, Danh, a labor delivery nurse at Methodist Stone Oak Hospital, married Luke Gradl, her partner of seven years. The ceremony took place in Houston’s Spring Branch in what Gradl described as their “dream wedding”, before the couple left for Tokyo in April.
“When we arrived at the hotel the afternoon of April 8, she was not feeling well. So, we decided to rest that day because we had 16 total days in Japan, so we could afford to rest half a day,” Gradl told PEOPLE.
Danh was “suffering” from several symptoms, including jaundice, vomiting, fever, body aches, and hepatic encephalopathy.
The sudden turn of events was a shock to Gradl. He said, “There were no health signs at our wedding.” Danh earned her nursing degree shortly before getting married, just last year.
Danh’s family started a GoFundMe while she was admitted in Japan to covert eh cost of her hospice. The goal of $50,000 was quickly surpassed and the family ended up raising more than $187,000. The overwhelming response to the GoFundMe made Danniella Ongmanchi, who created it, write in the comments, “We honestly didn’t expect this level of support, and it has lifted us up in ways we didn’t even know we needed.”
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Danh’s MRI back home revealed that she suffered a stroke and bilateral brain damage too. However, after a second MRI scan, doctors suggested that some of her brain damage might be reversible.
“This news gave Sarah’s parents, Luke, and everyone who loves her renewed strength and hope,” Khang said.
He added, “Since then, Sarah has continued to show gradual improvement, with signs that she may be slowly emerging from the coma.”
