Texas bride left 'fighting for life' in coma on Japan honeymoon speaks out for the first time since waking up
A woman who suffered a 'life-threatening health decline' just one day into her honeymoon has provided followers of her story with an emotional update.
Sarah Danh and her husband, Luke Gradl, flew out to Tokyo, Japan, back in April, a month after their 'dream wedding'.
A day after arriving, the 27-year-old began suffering from several strange symptoms, including jaundice, vomiting, fever and body aches.
Her husband told PEOPLE in the days that followed that Danh had also presented signs of 'extreme' hepatic encephalopathy, a decline in brain function caused by liver disease which occurs when the liver struggles to filter toxic chemicals from the blood, which build up and affect the brain.
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She was rushed to hospital in Japan after falling into a coma, after which doctors realised that, as well as her liver failing, her kidneys were struggling, too.
Danh was officially experiencing increased intracranial pressure, a condition that can prove fatal.
She was treated overseas using '24/7 CRRT (continuous renal replacement therapy), dialysis, blood transfusions, and plasma exchanges', Gradl explained at the time, after which medics ruled she was stable enough to be returned to her home in Texas.
In the months since, Danh has woken up, despite her family being warned she may never regain normal brain function.
Speaking out this week for the first time, three months after she 'got sick and fell into a coma', Danh issued a message of thanks to both her family and her online following.
Alongside a carousel of hospital snaps showing her learning to walk again, she wrote on Instagram, as per San Antonio Express News: "First things first... I’m alive. It feels bittersweet to finally be sitting here, able to tell this story myself."
Danh went on to thank several news outlets for coverage her case, claiming that without their amplification, she wouldn't have received over $187,000 in donations, which allowed her to return home.
"I will never be able to fully express how grateful I am for the love that surrounded me while I couldn’t speak for myself," she continued.
Later, the San Antonio registered nurse wrote: "Thank you to everyone who held onto hope for me and stood by my family when we needed it most."
She also contradicted her family's initial claim that she hadn't experienced any signs of deteriorating health before falling ill, insisting she had been feeling 'under the weather', but was 'convinced it was Covid'.
Danh added that, though a test for Covid-19 conducted prior to her honeymoon came back negative, she 'still wasn't feeling right', after which she booked in for further examinations.
"No blood work was done," she insisted, however, claiming she was told to 'get some rest, stay hydrated, rotate Tylenol and Ibuprofen for your fever... and have fun in Japan'.
Danh didn't receive a full explanation as to what happened on her honeymoon until she was able to wake up, on 29 April. In fact, she had no recollection of being abroad or returning home.
"I have absolutely no memory of any of it," she continued. "Apparently I was already so weak from throwing up the whole flight that I could barely walk and could barely get through customs. Supposedly I decided to stay in and rest, convinced I’d wake up the next morning feeling better and finally be able to enjoy our honeymoon."
"SIKE. That night everything changed. I became combative, lethargic, started speaking complete nonsense, and, according to everyone around me, turned yellow like a minion."
Danh continued: "An ambulance took me to St. Luke’s Hospital, where I was diagnosed with acute liver failure, hepatic encephalopathy, and critically elevated ammonia levels."
After returning home, she woke up following a 'prolonged time in the ICU', after which she finally learned of the full extent of her condition.
"The… neurologist explained that the brain injury appeared to be caused by the hepatic encephalopathy-and that, unlike many other types of brain injuries, it could be reversible," Danh went on. "Then something incredible happened. My liver slowly began healing itself.
"The swelling in my brain started going down."
Reflecting on the experience as a whole, Danh claimed the fiasco has 'changed' her for life.
"It taught me how unbelievably fragile life is," she penned. "It taught me that tomorrow is never promised.
"It taught me to love louder, forgive quicker, and appreciate the ordinary moments we so often take for granted. And most importantly… it taught me that miracles do happen."
Rhianna Benson