Sarah Danh, 27, a labor and delivery nurse at Methodist Hospital Stone Oak, is off life support and breathing on her own, according to her uncle Khang Le, who has been providing regular updates to supporters on Facebook. Ms. Danh and her husband, Luke Gradl, married on March 21 and flew to Tokyo on April 8. She fell ill the following day and was rushed to the emergency room, where she was diagnosed with acute liver failure, among other serious conditions, and placed in the intensive care unit.
“Since my last update, Sarah’s condition has been improving each day, and she is physically getting stronger,” Mr. Le wrote on Facebook on Thursday. “She is no longer on life support and is breathing on her own. She has also been able to wiggle her toes and move her arms.”
Ms. Danh was medically evacuated back to San Antonio on April 21 aboard a flight coordinated by AirMed and arranged in part through her employer, HCA Healthcare. The evacuation had been delayed for nearly two weeks due to her unstable condition. During her hospitalization in Japan, doctors identified acute liver failure along with kidney failure and rising intracranial pressure. She also suffered a stroke before the flight home, which an MRI later showed had caused what appeared to be severe bilateral brain damage — though doctors told the family the damage may be reversible.
Mr. Le said Ms. Danh has taken her first steps since falling ill. Doctors tested her strength and helped her stand, and she was able to take a few steps with assistance. She has also been able to express emotions, smiling, crying and occasionally giggling, though her responses “often come and go,” Mr. Le said.
Her recovery remains incomplete. Ms. Danh is currently unable to speak and cannot independently perform basic functions such as drinking water, eating or controlling her fingers. “She is still far from being able to do basic things,” Mr. Le wrote. Her memory is inconsistent, and further testing is needed to determine what caused her sudden health collapse. Once she leaves the ICU, she will require both physical and cognitive therapy, he said.
A GoFundMe campaign for Ms. Danh surpassed $187,000 before being taken down on Wednesday.
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