{"id":15559,"date":"2026-05-01T18:18:25","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T18:18:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/15559\/"},"modified":"2026-05-01T18:18:25","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T18:18:25","slug":"texas-nurse-off-life-support-takes-first-steps-after-japan-honeymoon-emergency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/15559\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas nurse off life support, takes first steps after Japan honeymoon emergency"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Central Texas nurse who was\u00a0medically evacuated from her Japan honeymoon<\/a> last week is off life support and breathing on her own, family members say. She has also taken her first steps since falling ill.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been a week filled with hope for the family of San Antonio labor and delivery nurse Sarah\u00a0Danh, 27, who suffered a stroke before her flight to Texas. Danh, who recently married Luke Gradl, fell ill without warning just two days after the couple arrived in Japan. She was diagnosed with sudden liver failure and had to undergo transplant surgery upon her return to San Antonio on April 21.<\/p>\n

After showing signs<\/a> that she was aware of her family\u2019s presence, a family member says her physical condition is improving.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince my last update, Sarah\u2019s condition has been improving each day, and she is physically getting stronger,\u201d Khang Le wrote in a Facebook post<\/a> Thursday night. \u201cShe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Earlier in the day, medical staff had assessed her strength and supported her in a standing position. She took \u201ca few small steps\u201d with assistance.<\/p>\n

Le expressed cautious optimism, acknowledging that\u00a0Danh still has a long road to recovery ahead of her. Once she is transferred out of the ICU, she will require physical and cognitive therapy.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough her physical condition is improving, she is still far from being able to do basic things such as taking a sip of water, eating, controlling her fingers, opening her mouth, or saying any words,\u201d Le\u2019s post continued. \u201cHer memory seems to come and go. She has been able to express discomfort, sadness, and happiness, and she smiles, cries, and even giggles when I say silly things to get a reaction from her. Her emotions seem to be present, but they often come and go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Le also thanked those who have offered encouragement to Danh and her family.<\/p>\n

\u201cI truly believe the prayers and support you have all provided have given Sarah the strength and courage to keep fighting for her life.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Newlywed suffered stroke in Japan, family says\"According<\/p>\n

According to Danh’s uncle Khang Le, his niece has been showing signs of improvement since being medically evacuated from Tokyo back to a San Antonio hospital. (Courtesy of Gofundme)<\/p>\n

Prior to these hopeful signs of recovery, Le says the\u00a0family received \u201cdevastating news\u201d: An MRI conducted after Danh\u2019s return to the U.S. revealed she had suffered a stroke while in Japan, which is believed to have caused severe bilateral brain damage. Medical staff \u201cwarned that she might not wake up or regain normal function,\u201d Le says.<\/p>\n

Another MRI, taken a day later, suggested some of the damage may be reversible. Danh\u2019s family was told it was too early to determine what her recovery would look like. Nonetheless, Le says the family remains hopeful.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur family would also like to express our deepest gratitude to everyone who has reached out, prayed, donated, and supported us during this unimaginable time,\u201d Le\u2019s post reads. \u201cWe are truly grateful for the compassion, generosity, and prayers we have received. Lastly, I want to thank both our family and Luke\u2019s family for coming together in unity to support Sarah every step of the way.\u201d<\/p>\n

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GoFundMe\u00a0halted after nearly quadrupling goal<\/p>\n

A previous\u00a0report from People<\/a> said Danh suffered a \u201clife-threatening health decline\u201d on April 9, with several immediate symptoms including jaundice, vomiting, body aches and \u201cextreme\u201d hepatic encephalopathy. \u00a0After being hospitalized,\u00a0Danh\u2019s condition worsened, according to her husband\u00a0\u2014 her kidneys were failing, and she was\u00a0battling increasing intracranial pressure.<\/p>\n

Danh had been unable to be evacuated until her condition stabilized.<\/p>\n

An online fundraiser was created to help with Danh\u2019s hospital bills, her family\u2019s flights and \u201cany other urgent expenses.\u201d In Japan, policies require hospital bills to be paid in full. If they go unpaid, treatments will be halted.<\/p>\n

AirMed and Danh\u2019s employer, Methodist Hospital Stone Oak, worked with HCA Healthcare to arrange Danh\u2019s flight back to Texas.<\/p>\n

Donations for the GoFundMe<\/a> were paused after contributions exceeded $187,000. The initial goal was $50,000.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Central Texas nurse who was\u00a0medically evacuated from her Japan honeymoon last week is off life support and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15560,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[12587,1496,8,12586,6502,33,12588,6505],"class_list":{"0":"post-15559","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-japan","8":"tag-central-texas","9":"tag-family","10":"tag-japan","11":"tag-khang-le","12":"tag-luke-gradl","13":"tag-nihon","14":"tag-physical-condition","15":"tag-sarah-danh"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15559","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15559"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15559\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15560"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15559"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15559"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15559"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}