You might not think you can die from something as simple as a toothache, but that very thing left a young California family grieving the loss of their father after their worst nightmare became a reality (photos below).
Vadim Kondratyuk Anatoliyevich, a 26-year-old father, passed away on Jan. 31 after complaining about a toothache two weeks before, reports KTXL. Vadim was a healthy young man besides having diabetes, so his loved ones said that they were completely blindsided when they learned that he was on his deathbed in a Utah hospital after the infection spread to his lungs.
“The doctor said, ‘Tonight is the night he’s going to die, because we did everything we can and nothing seems to work,’” Vadim’s widow, Nataliya, told KTXL of the surprising phone call she had four days after Vadim checked in for emergency help. “It’s just the bacteria and the infection keeps growing to his lungs and they can’t clean it out.”
The couple had been married four years and had two young daughters together in Antelope Valley, California.
“I don’t think you could find a better husband,” said Nataliya. “I thank everybody for his prayers, for his brother, for his friend that dropped me off over there. I know he’s in heaven. He’s a happy person right now. He’s going to be my angel for the rest of my life and he’s going to help me through this whole time without a dad and without a husband.”
Vadim visited a dentist in Oklahoma when his tooth first started bothering him while on a truck route. The infected tooth was cleaned and he was given antibiotics, but the infection kept getting worse. Eventually it got so bad that half of his face swelled up and his brother had to come pick him up, as he was feeling too weak to drive. On the way home, they checked into a hospital, where he died, his wife and loved ones at his side.
The family has set up a GoFundMe page to help offset the memorial and medical bills, especially since they need additional money to transport his body across state lines. Since Nataliya was not working, the money will also go toward her immediate need to keep her family afloat with no income.
As of Jan. 31, the page has raised nearly $122,000 of a set goal of $250,000.
Sources: KTXL, Vlad Kazimirets/GoFundMe / Photo credit: Vlad Kazimirets/GoFundMe
