The bride's mother has joined her in Japan, and the groom's family is supporting the couple from Texas
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/Sarah-Danh-41726-f68d7c5535564573acedbeaefa09c019.jpg "Sarah Danh, Bride Who's Fighting for Her Life in Japan Has Scheduled Flight Home")
Credit: Wincrest Films; Luke Gradl
NEED TO KNOW
- Sarah Danh unexpectedly suffered acute liver failure during her honeymoon in Japan and remains in critical condition
- Her husband, Luke Gradl, tells PEOPLE that her employer is coordinating a medical evacuation flight to bring her back home to the U.S. for further care
- A GoFundMe has raised $130,000 to help cover medical bills, flights, and other urgent expenses for her recovery
A bride in critical condition in Japan has a life-saving flight home to the U.S. scheduled.
Just a few weeks after their "dream wedding," Sarah Danh, 27, and Luke Gradl, 28, traveled to Tokyo for their honeymoon. Two days in, their romantic getaway became a nightmare. Danh suffered a "life-threatening health decline" and has been in the intensive care unit with acute liver failure for unknown reasons since Thursday, April 9.
Gradl now tells PEOPLE that Danh's flight home is scheduled for next week. Danh works as a labor and delivery nurse at Methodist Hospital Stone Oak in San Antonio, Texas, and her employer has been helping to coordinate an emergency medical evacuation flight home.
Credit: Luke Gradl
"The flight is scheduled for Tuesday, April 21, and will require multiple stops along the way back to San Antonio," Gradl says. "The flight is through AirMed, which is being provided through HCA and is affiliated with her work, Methodist Hospital."
While Gradl hasn't left his wife's side since her health has deteriorated, he's no longer alone though. Danh's mother, Le Le, recently flew over from the U.S. to provide "moral support."
Meanwhile, Gradl's family is still in Texas, trying to help in any way they can from overseas and staying connected across time zones. "My family has been trying to help contacting the embassy, state department and other entities," he tells PEOPLE.
Credit: Luke Gradl
Gradl's brother-in-law, Rob, a cardiologist in Texas, has barely slept to review Danh's labs and hop on calls with her doctors in real time in order to help him navigate the foreign medical system and understand the findings. "[Rob] has been in this fight with us since the beginning," Gradl says.
"I have informed him of all bloodwork, treatments, medications [and] dosing. He has been working tirelessly being on all status calls that we have with the doctors here in Japan so that he is up to date on anything and everything," the groom continues.
Gradl adds, "Without him, we would be lost on the medical side of things. Due to the time difference, he is usually up until 2 or 3 in the morning making sure he is receiving all updates, on top of having to spend time with the family and performing his normal duties as a cardiologist."
Credit: Courtesy of Le Le
On top of being diagnosed with acute liver failure, Danh has been facing additional issues, including failing kidneys and intracranial brain pressure. She's been on "24/7 CRRT (continuous renal replacement therapy), dialysis, blood transfusions, and plasma exchanges."
"Her condition is stable but still critical condition," Gradl tells PEOPLE. "We have been fighting for stability to be 'fit for flight' by both doctors in Japan and San Antonio."
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Credit: Luke Gradl
A GoFundMe was created to ease the financial burden of hospital bills, flights and other urgent expenses so that Danh can recover and return to the U.S. safely. About $130,000 has been raised as of Friday, April 17.
"I just want to her to be stable enough for our evacuation that is being coordinated through AirMed because it is a long, risky flight that must be done to get her home," Gradl previously told PEOPLE. "I love my wife with all of my heart and this is a test like no other. We have put our continued faith in God and all of the medical staff."