A bride feared she would become a widow just days after her wedding when her new husband was left in a coma during their honeymoon.
Lauren Esper had been married to her long-term partner Gabe Brown for four days when he had a catastrophic fall on their honeymoon in Jamaica.
The pair wed on September 21 in Pennsylvania after five years together, followed by a romantic getaway to Montego Bay, Jamaica.
However, just hours after arriving at their resort, 27-year-old Gabe slipped on the hotel’s bathroom tiles, breaking his spine and suffering a large bleed on his brain.
Lauren – a 25-year-old graphic designer – rushed her new husband to the nearest hospital, where she was told he required urgent surgery to stop the bleed.
After Gabe was transferred to another hospital in Jamaica, the software engineer underwent a four-hour surgery before arrangements were made to fly him back to the US.
Gabe has since undergone two brain surgeries and an abdominal surgery and remains in a coma two months after his accident.
Lauren, who lives in Pennsylvania, described her honeymoon as a ‘nightmare’ – but remains hopeful her new husband will wake up and they can finally begin married life.
New bride Lauren Esper feared she would become a widow just four days after her wedding when her husband Gabe Brown was left in a coma after slipping during their honeymoon
Lauren said: ‘We both wanted to go somewhere hot for our honeymoon so Gabe suggested Jamaica and we both hadn’t been there before.
‘We arrived at our resort around 4pm and we were in our room. I went to take a nap and was laying on the bed when all of a sudden I heard Gabe gasp, then a thud,’ she continued.
‘I immediately woke up and thought he might’ve dropped over some luggage and asked if he was okay but I didn’t hear a response.
‘It was an open-concept room so I could see Gabe was laying on the bathroom floor having a seizure. I ran out of the bed and actually slipped myself on the tiles.
‘He was bleeding from his mouth and vigorously shaking. He had never had a seizure before. I was trying to stay as calm as I could.’
Lauren quickly alerted hotel staff before calling an ambulance where Gabe was rushed to the nearest hospital.
There, Lauren was told Gabe had suffered a large bleed on the brain and needed to be transferred to another hospital for surgery.
She said: ‘I was literally fighting for Gabe’s life and it seemed like it was so out of my hands. They finally got Gabe into surgery seven and a half hours after his fall.
Just hours after arriving at their resort, 27-year-old Gabe slipped on the hotel’s bathroom tiles, breaking his spine and suffering a large bleed on his brain
Gabe has since been transferred to a facility in his home-state of Pennsylvania where he underwent a second brain surgery and remains in a coma
‘At one point, he almost flatlined. I was mentally preparing myself that Gabe was going to die in front of me. I felt completely hopeless.
‘I was crying to my dad on the phone saying Gabe was dying and it was life or death. I felt like I was letting Gabe down.’
After a four-hour surgery, Gabe was then taken back to the first hospital where he remained on the intensive care unit and placed on a ventilator.
Lauren made arrangements for her new husband to be flown from Jamaica back to the US – but this was delayed due to the ongoing hurricane at the time.
Once the weather improved, Gabe was flown to Florida where doctors discovered he had broken a vertebrae in his spine and required a tracheotomy.
Lauren said: ‘They believe when he fell he hit his back and must’ve hit his head falling backwards. I think he just fell backwards which would make sense why he gasped and it looked like he didn’t brace himself at all.
‘It was glazed tile so it was pretty slippery, it wasn’t wet. When I ran over to him, I even slipped over myself. It’s super humid outside so I don’t know if that’s related. It’s just such a freak accident.’
Gabe has since been transferred to a facility in his home-state of Pennsylvania where he underwent a second brain surgery and remains in a coma.
Gabe is currently still in a coma and is racking up medical debt
Lauren said: ‘He’s still in a coma. It’s been nearly two months now. He has opened his mouth, he can move his fingers and toes, but he’s not conscious. Sometimes he’s more alert and other times he’s in a more unconscious state.
‘I don’t know what his memory will be like and what he’ll have to relearn. It’s truly just a waiting game. We’re all just waiting on Gabe to wake up. I do believe he can hear us so I’ve been talking to him a lot.
‘We don’t know what his recovery looks like or if there’ll be permanent damage. I think he’s making a recovery towards waking up.
Despite having travel insurance and primary healthcare, Lauren has had to fork out more than $28,000 in medical bills for Gabe’s care since his accident two months ago.
A family friend subsequently launched a fundraiser to help with hospital bills and any rehabilitation costs Gabe may need in the future.
‘We were only married four days before this happened. It has been the worst two months of my life,’ Lauren said.
‘I’m so glad we had our wedding and I keep holding onto that and we were able to get married but the first two months have been horrific.’
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