Critically ill Texas nurse Sarah Danh squeezed her mom’s hand in hospital and “faintly nodded” when asked if she could hear them — just days after suffering a stroke before her emergency flight back to the US.
Danh, 27, arrived in San Antonio, last Tuesday, following a 24-hour medevac flight after being hospitalized with acute liver failure just two days into her honeymoon in Japan.
She remains in a coma, but her uncle Khang Le shared what he described as “encouraging news” in an update Sunday.
“Over the past few days, Sarah has shown signs of improvement,” he wrote on Facebook.
“While still on the breathing machine, she has begun taking a few weak breaths on her own.
“This Sunday morning felt like the most hopeful day we have had since we first learned Sarah was in the ICU in Japan.”
Danh’s family has gathered by her bedside, and Khang revealed she has given “small but deeply meaningful signs that she is aware of her family’s presence.”
“She gently squeezed her mom’s hand while her mom stood beside her, and she faintly nodded when asked if she could hear,” he said.
“These moments brought tears of joy and relief to her parents and our entire family.”
Khang spoke about how the journey has been “incredibly difficult.” Danh’s parents and her husband Luke Gradl were told she had suffered a stroke.
Doctors feared she might not have been able to wake up after she appeared to suffer severe bilateral brain damage.
“This was heartbreaking for all of us,” Khang said.
Danh underwent another MRI scan – where doctors suggested some of the brain damage may be reversible.
“This news gave Sarah’s parents, Luke, and everyone who loves her renewed strength and hope,” Khang said.
“Since then, Sarah has continued to show gradual improvement, with signs that she may be slowly emerging from the coma.”
Last week, Khang said his family was “taking everything moment by moment, holding onto hope as we wait for her to wake”
“These past few days have been incredibly tough and heartbreaking—an emotional rollercoaster that feels never-ending,” he said.
Danh, a labor delivery nurse at Methodist Stone Oak Hospital, tied the knot with her partner of seven years, Luke Gradl, in Houston’s Spring Branch neighborhood on March 21 in what he described as their “dream wedding” – before jetting out to Tokyo on April 8.
“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,” aspiring pilot Gradl, 28, told People.
“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.”
Danh fell ill despite showing no symptoms in the run-up to their trip abroad – and doctors diagnosed her with acute liver failure.
“There were no health signs at our wedding,” he said.
Gradl said she was also suffering from kidney failure and intracranial brain pressure.
A GoFundMe was created to help cover hospital bills and the cost of Danh’s flight back to the US – and more than $180,000 has been raised – surpassing an initial $50,000 target.
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