Friends And Family Working To Bring Pittsburgh Bride Hospitalized On Honeymoon With Sepsis Back To U.S.
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - A local couple's honeymoon in Mexico turned into a nightmare when the new bride ended up in the hospital with sepsis on the first day.
Christine and Matthew Roth are high school sweethearts from Hampton Township who had a fairytale wedding in Pittsburgh on July 4. They flew to Cancun for their honeymoon the next morning.
"They were just enthralled to be married and, on a honeymoon, they were in great spirits," said Courtney Stinebiser, Christine's best friend and one of her maids of honor.
Stinebiser said the couple's first day in paradise took an unexpected turn.
"Her husband was like she has 104.5-degree fever, a rash that's spreading across her body and she can't really move her feet right now," said Stinebiser.
Matthew said Christine ended up in the ICU in septic shock. He said she has been intubated and sedated for days. Doctors discovered the 26-year-old physician assistant has a staph infection, which caused the sepsis. They believe she has been sick since before the wedding.
"It was terrifying, especially feeling helpless because she is in Mexico. It's not like I can drive over and sit in her room. She's in a foreign country," Stinebiser said.
Not knowing how else to help, Stinebiser started a GoFundMe page and donations keep rolling in. As of Tuesday night, there were nearly $50,000 in donations.
"It's overwhelming the amount of support we have because it is a vast network. Friends and family and people we don't even know, strangers who just want to help. It's absolutely amazing," said Matthew.
He said that the staff at Galenia Hospital in Cancun has been amazing and saved his wife's life.
The newlyweds have insurance, but some financial issues still need to be resolved before Christine can be flown under medical care to a hospital in the U.S. Once she is stabilized, they are hoping she will be taken to a hospital in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to continue her care there.
"At least then we can be in the comfort of our own country, working with things we know, and family is more easily accessible," said Stinebiser.
With a long road of recovery ahead, the outpouring of support is giving them hope that they will make it home soon.
The new husband said the couple will likely have a new honeymoon down the road, but all that matters right now is getting his wife better and getting her home.
"It's taken such a weight off my shoulders. I can be 100 percent focused on Christine and worrying about her and watching her get better and I don't have to think as much about how we are going to afford her care and how we are going to get her home," said Matthew.