A bride who suffered acute liver failure during what was meant to be her “dream wedding” honeymoon in Japan is now being flown back to Texas on a critical medical evacuation flight, as doctors race to stabilize her condition for a possible transplant.

Sarah Danh, a 27-year-old labor and delivery nurse at Methodist Stone Oak Hospital in San Antonio, became gravely ill just two days into her honeymoon in Tokyo on April 9. What began as a joyful post-wedding trip quickly turned into a medical emergency after she experienced a sudden, life-threatening health decline and was admitted to intensive care with acute liver failure.

Her husband, Luke Gradl, has remained at her side throughout the ordeal as medical teams in Japan and the United States coordinated a high-risk evacuation. According to officials involved in the transfer, Danh is being transported aboard an AirMed medical flight, arranged through HCA and connected to her workplace hospital system, in an effort to bring her home for urgent continued treatment and potential transplant evaluation.

Images shared from the evacuation show Danh being carefully transferred on a stretcher at a Japanese airfield, surrounded by medical staff and life-support equipment designed to keep her stable during the long journey back to Texas.

The flight, scheduled to land in San Antonio within the next 24 hours, includes multiple stops and constant monitoring due to the severity of her condition. A transplant team is reportedly standing by upon arrival.

“This has been incredibly fragile from the beginning,” her husband said, noting that the situation unfolded without warning during what was supposed to be a celebratory trip after their recent wedding.

Danh’s mother, Le Le, who recently flew to Japan to provide support, shared that her daughter remains in critical condition but expressed deep gratitude for the overwhelming response from friends, medical teams, and strangers who have contributed to a growing GoFundMe campaign now exceeding $130,000. The funds are helping cover emergency medical care, transport costs, and ongoing treatment needs.

Medical teams have been working around the clock to stabilize Danh, who has also faced additional complications including kidney failure and increased brain pressure. She has required continuous intensive therapies including dialysis, blood transfusions, and plasma exchange.

Despite the severity of her condition, doctors are pushing to ensure she is stable enough for the trans-Pacific evacuation, with coordination between specialists in Japan and San Antonio guiding every step of the process.

As the flight brings her closer to home, family members say their focus remains on one goal: giving her the best possible chance at survival and getting her into the care of transplant specialists waiting in Texas.