31-year-old Australian mother Chloe Mowday is fighting for her life after what was meant to be a simple cosmetic trip to Vietnam turned into a catastrophic medical emergency.
Chloe had flown to Da Nang with her husband, Josh, and their youngest son, Elijah, planning to enjoy a family holiday in Asia after undergoing two procedures: a rhinoplasty and a blepharoplasty.
Highlights
- A 31-year-old Australian mother suffered catastrophic complications after routine surgery in Vietnam.
- Her family is raising funds for a medical evacuation costing more than $228,000.
- The mother was reportedly a fan of Kylie Jenner's looks, and wanted to replicate her nose.
The trio hoped to continue on to Disneyland Hong Kong and Universal Studios Singapore once her recovery began. Instead, Chloe is now connected to life-support machines in a Vietnamese ICU.
According to reports, Chloe gave the surgeons photos of Kylie Jenner as inspiration for the look she wanted to achieve.
A mother was left fighting for her life and connected to tubes after traveling to Vietnam for a rhinoplasty
Image credits: mrschloe18
She stayed overnight at the Da Nang clinic after her surgery, and by morning she was returned to her hotel to rest before the family continued their plans. But the recovery she expected never came.
Within hours of arriving back at the room, Chloe began to deteriorate.
“She started to feel strange and had a bit of pain in other areas besides the surgery site,” her brother Rod recalled, saying how she took the medication doctors prescribed and lay down to rest.
“She wasn’t responding well, then she stopped breathing,” he added.
Image credits: mrschloe18
By the time she reached the hospital, her condition had deteriorated even more.
“I believe in those few hours, her organs had started shutting down,” Rod said.
Chloe had allegedly been an admirer of Kylie Jenner's cosmetic surgery transformation, and wanted to achieve similar results with her rhinoplasty.
Image credits: Seventeen / kyliejenner
According to doctors, a rare toxic shock syndrome could be behind the symptoms, though they are still running tests to confirm it.
Because of the severity and uncertainty surrounding what happened inside the clinic, police have opened an investigation, and authorities have withheld the clinic’s name.
“She’s on dialysis, had to have a blood transfusion, and is on certain dr*gs to bring her blood pressure back to normal,” Rod added. “It got so low, her feet and fingers turned black.”
He was allowed to visit her for only fifteen minutes each day.
“What I saw was just heartbreaking. She was not awake, she had tubes coming out of her.”
Chloe has had to remain in Vietnam because of her delicate condition, and her family is now raising funds to bring her back to Australia
Image credits: GoFundMe
Rod said Chloe’s doctors warned that the longer she remains in the Vietnamese hospital, the greater the risk of new infections that could derail what little progress she is making.
For that reason, the family is desperately trying to bring her home.
However, the cost of a medical evacuation has devastated the family. A single air ambulance quote came back at $228,000. Seeing no other option, the family launched a fundraiser.
Image credits: mrschloe18
“We are proud people and didn’t want to have to ask for help,” Rod said.
Although the total amount raised hasn’t been specified, the campaign has drawn over 440 donations, many of them $50 gifts, and the highest reaching $2,000.
“I am so thankful for the love and support from everyone. People are just beautiful.”
The Australian Embassy is now involved, with a spokesperson confirming that consular assistance is being provided, though privacy rules prevent them from saying more.
Chloe’s family confirmed she’s making progress, with doctors actively treating the infection
By the time that statement was issued, Rod had already flown back to Perth, carrying with him the weight of the updates he’d received inside the ICU.
“The doctors said she is very strong,” he said. “But when I asked if she was going to make it, they couldn’t give me a straightforward answer.”
Back home, he tried to put into words what Chloe is fighting for.
“[She] has three young children and a loving husband who has been by her side since this happened with their 5-year-old son there too,” he wrote on the fundraiser page, a reminder of the family waiting for her in Australia.
Image credits: mrschloe18
To bring her home, they are now pursuing loans and early access to retirement funds, hoping she will be cleared to fly within the next month. Until that happens, the family remains caught between hope and fear, waiting.
Image credits: Anh Nguyen/Unsplash
In the latest fundraiser update, Rod was able to share a glimmer of hope with Chloe’s supporters.
“We believe Chloe is getting stronger every day, at this point infection is starting to emerge in certain parts of her body, the doctors are trying their best to fight it,” he wrote.
“After we get her home my life’s ambition will be to track down every name on here and pay you back in some way somehow.”
"Sending prayers." Netizens expressed their concern on social media
