An American nurse is battling for her life after falling critically ill just two days into her honeymoon in Japan.
Sarah Danh, 27, was flown back to San Antonio on Tuesday evening, April 21, after enduring a grueling 20-hour journey from Japan, where she had been hospitalized with acute liver failure, according to People.
Danh, a labor and delivery nurse, had recently tied the knot with her partner of seven years, Luke Gradl, 28. The couple celebrated what he described as their “dream wedding” on March 21 in Houston’s Spring Branch neighborhood before traveling to Tokyo on April 8 for their honeymoon.
“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,” budding pilot Gradl told the outlet.
“April 9 things started to go bad very quickly, so I immediately took her to the hospital just before midnight, where we were admitted to the emergency room, and the next day moved to the ICU because of life-threatening health decline.”
Her symptoms included jaundice, body aches, and vomiting.
Gradl said his wife didn’t show any signs of illness before their trip abroad.
Japanese doctors diagnosed Danh with acute liver failure — but Gradl said she was also suffering from kidney failure and intracranial brain pressure, describing her battle as a “test like no other.”
Danh, who works at Methodist Stone Oak Hospital, needs a liver transplant.
“Being away from home during such a vulnerable time has been incredibly difficult for Sarah and her husband, Luke, as they try to navigate the uncertainty and worry together,” Ongmanchi said, documenting the couple’s ordeal.
Gradl’s parents’ son-in-law even joined calls with doctors in Japan while Danh was in the hospital.
“I don’t know how we would have survived without him,” Gradl’s mom, Sally, told Fox San Antonio.

