Bride Who Survived Honeymoon Nightmare in Japan Speaks Out for the First Time: ‘Feels Like I Came Back From the Dead’

Texas-based nurse Sarah Danh fell into a coma and suffered a life-threatening health crisis during her honeymoon in Japan

Sarah Danh is speaking out for the first time about surviving her terrifying health crisis.

Three months ago, Danh, 27, was hospitalized overseas on April 9, just one day after she and her husband arrived in Japan for their dream honeymoon. For reasons still unknown, Danh suffered a sudden “life-threatening health decline” and fell into a coma. She was initially diagnosed with acute liver failure, among other serious health issues.

Still in a coma, Danh returned to her home state of Texas via an emergency medical evacuation flight on April 21, thanks to help from her employer and supporters worldwide who eased the financial burden for her safe return to the United States. Doctors then identified “severe bilateral brain damage,” and warned her family that she may never wake up or regain normal function. However, Danh defied the odds and was off life support, breathing on her own, and even walking with assistance days later. In mid-May, her uncle said she was being transferred to TIRR Memorial Hermann in Houston to begin physical and cognitive therapy as the next step in her recovery.

Now, Danh is opening up about the frightening ordeal for the first time.

Danh broke her silence on Instagram on Thursday, July 9, exactly three months since she “got sick and fell into a coma.” She hadn’t posted online since she shared a video from her wedding, which took place on March 21 in Spring Branch, Texas. Addressing her loved ones in a long note posted alongside hospital photos and videos of her relearning how to walk, she began: “First things first… I’m alive.”

Danh, who is a registered nurse at Methodist Hospital Stone Oak in San Antonio, admitted that she didn’t even “know where to start” and felt “emotional” recapping her ordeal. She wrote, “It feels bittersweet to finally be sitting here, able to tell this story myself.”

She began by expressing her gratitude to PEOPLE, local news outlets, and others who amplified her story, which ultimately allowed her to return home for continued care. She also thanked those who prayed for her, supported her family, and donated to her GoFundMe, which surpassed $187,000 before it was taken down.

“I will never be able to fully express how grateful I am for the love that surrounded me while I couldn’t speak for myself,” Danh wrote. She later added, “Thank you to everyone who held onto hope for me and stood by my family when we needed it most.”

When Danh was in the hospital in Japan, her family told PEOPLE that they weren’t aware of any deteriorating health signs ahead of her honeymoon. But Danh reveals that she was actually “feeling under the weather” a few days before her flight, and was “convinced it was COVID.”

Although every COVID-19 and flu test Danh took was negative, she “still wasn’t feeling right” so she went to her local ER. The tests were repeated but were once again negative. Danh noted, “No blood work was done.” IV fluids were administered then Danh was discharged and told to “get some rest, stay hydrated, rotate Tylenol and Ibuprofen for your fever… and have fun in Japan.”

So, on Tuesday, April 7, Danh and her husband departed for Tokyo as planned, and they arrived the next day. But, Danh remembers none of that, nor anything else from their honeymoon.

“I have absolutely no memory of any of it,” she wrote. “Apparently I was already so weak from throwing up the whole flight that I could barely walk and could barely get through customs. Supposedly I decided to stay in and rest, convinced I’d wake up the next morning feeling better and finally be able to enjoy our honeymoon.”

She continued, “SIKE. That night everything changed. I became combative, lethargic, started speaking complete nonsense, and, according to everyone around me, turned yellow like a minion. An ambulance took me to St. Luke’s Hospital, where I was diagnosed with acute liver failure, hepatic encephalopathy, and critically elevated ammonia levels.”

After Danh fell into a coma on April 9, she was “intubated and heavily medicated” and “underwent multiple blood transfusions, dialysis, and CRRT (continuous renal replacement therapy) as they fought to keep [her] stable” in the intensive care unit.

Danh’s mother, who traveled to join the newlyweds in Japan after Danh was hospitalized, was told by doctors that “liver transplants could not be performed for non-citizens.” So, their goal became stabilizing Danh “enough to survive the flight” back home, where she could receive a transplant.

“Once back in America, I spent a prolonged time in the ICU before being transferred to the transplant unit while waiting to be accepted for a liver transplant,” Danh wrote. “Because of the severity of my hepatic encephalopathy, my care team shifted their focus from my liver to my brain. Discussions began about removing the breathing tube and placing a tracheostomy because no one knew if I would ever wake up.”

When the neurologist warned Danh’s family that she “would never be the same” if she survived and “would likely never walk or talk again and would require lifelong care,” they “refused to accept that answer” and got a second opinion. Then, “something incredible happened.”

“The second neurologist explained that the brain injury appeared to be caused by the hepatic encephalopathy-and that, unlike many other types of brain injuries, it could be reversible,” Danh wrote. “Then something incredible happened. My liver slowly began healing itself. The swelling in my brain started going down.”

On Wednesday, April 29, Danh woke up.

“It honestly feels like I came back from the dead,” she wrote. “Recovery didn’t end there-not even close. I’m still recovering every single day. I now have more specialists than I can count and continue with neuro rehabilitation.”

Danh says her life has changed in ways she never could have imagined, but that the hardest part of it all is still having “so many unanswered questions,” the biggest one being what caused her health decline.

“This experience changed me,” she wrote. “It taught me how unbelievably fragile life is. It taught me that tomorrow is never promised. It taught me to love louder, forgive quicker, and appreciate the ordinary moments we so often take for granted. And most importantly… it taught me that miracles do happen.”