Bride’s new husband left in coma just four days after their wedding during horror honeymoon

A bride feared she would be widowed just days after her wedding when her new husband was in a coma during their honeymoon.

Lauren Esper was four days into her marriage to her long-term partner Gabe Brown when he suffered a catastrophic fall during their honeymoon in Jamaica.

The couple tied the knot 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 bathroom tiles, breaking his spine and suffering a major bleed in his brain.

Lauren, a 25-year-old graphic designer, rushed her new husband to the nearest hospital, where she was told he needed emergency surgery to stop the bleeding.

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 abdominal surgery and has been in a coma for two months after his accident.

Lauren, who lives in Pennsylvania, described her honeymoon as a “nightmare” but remains hopeful that her new husband will wake up and they can finally begin married life.

Lauren said, “We both wanted to go somewhere warm for our honeymoon, so Gabe suggested Jamaica, and neither of us had been there before.

“We arrived at our resort around 4pm and were in our room. “I went to take a nap and was laying on the bed when I suddenly heard Gabe gasp and then a pop,” she continued.

‘I woke up straight away and thought maybe he had dropped some luggage and asked if he was okay, but I heard no answer.

“It was an open room, so I could see Gabe lying on the bathroom floor having a seizure. I ran out of bed and even slipped on the tiles.

‘He was bleeding from the mouth and shaking violently. He had never had a seizure before. I tried to stay as calm as possible.’

Lauren quickly alerted hotel staff before calling an ambulance, after which Gabe was rushed to the nearest hospital.

There, Lauren was told that Gabe had suffered a major brain hemorrhage and had to be transferred to another hospital for surgery.

She said, “I was literally fighting for Gabe’s life and it felt like it was out of my control. They finally had Gabe operated on seven and a half hours after his fall.

Just hours after arriving at their resort, 27-year-old Gabe slipped on the hotel bathroom tiles, breaking his spine and suffering a major hemorrhage in 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 fainted. I was mentally preparing myself for Gabe to die before my eyes. I felt completely hopeless.

“I cried to my dad on the phone and said Gabe was dying and it was life or death. I felt like I was letting Gabe down.”

After a four-hour operation, Gabe was then returned to the first hospital where he remained in intensive care and was placed on a ventilator.

Lauren arranged to have her new husband flown back to the US from Jamaica, but this was postponed due to the hurricane at the time.

Once the weather improved, Gabe was flown to Florida, where doctors discovered he had fractured a vertebra in his spine and needed a tracheotomy.

Lauren said: ‘They believe he hit his back when he fell and must have hit his head as he fell backwards. I think he just fell backwards, which would make sense as to why he was gasping for breath and it didn’t seem like he was bracing himself at all.

‘It was glazed tile, so it was quite smooth and not wet. When I ran to him, I even fell over myself. It’s very 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 accumulating medical debt

Lauren said, “He’s still in a coma. It’s been almost two months now. He has opened his mouth, he can move his fingers and toes, but he is not conscious. Sometimes he is more alert and sometimes he is in a more unconscious state.

‘I don’t know what his memory will be like and what he will have to relearn. It’s really just a waiting game. We’re all waiting for Gabe to wake up. I believe he can hear us, so I talked to him a lot.

‘We don’t know what his recovery will look like and whether there will be permanent damage. I think he’s recovering towards waking up.

Despite having travel insurance and basic health care, Lauren has had to pay more than $28,000 in medical bills for Gabe’s care since his accident two months ago.

A family friend then launched a fundraiser to help with hospital bills and any rehabilitation costs Gabe may need in the future.

‘We had only been married for four days before this happened. It was the worst two months of my life,” Lauren said.

‘I’m so happy we had our wedding and I’m still holding on to that and we were able to get married, but the first two months have been terrible.’