It started as a seemingly ordinary toothache.
Vadim Kondratyuk, a 26-year-old long-haul truck driver and married father-of-two, brushed off the pain and hit the road, traveling from Truckee, California, en route to New York for work, never to return.
In the early hours of Monday morning, Kondratyuk was pronounced dead in a Utah hospital, where doctors found that his tooth infection had spread to his lungs.
His wife of four years, Nataliya, made the trip from their home in Antelope, California, to Utah in time to say goodbye.
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Heartbreaking loss: This family photo shows Vadim Kondratyuk, 26, his wife, Nataliya, and their two girls, ages 2 years and 11 months. The father-of-two died of an infection Monday
Clinging to life: The long-haul truck driver spent four days in a Utah hospital, where doctors tried, and failed, to stop the spread of an infection that originated in his tooth
'The doctor said tonight is the night he's gonna die, because we did everything we can and nothing seems to work,’ Nataliya told the station Fox40. ‘It's just the bacteria and the infection keeps growing to his lungs and they can't clean it out.’
The young widow, who is now left to raise the couple's two daughters, two-year-old Vanessa and 11-month-old Maya, said Vadim was suffering from diabetes but was otherwise in good health when he began complaining of the toothache two weeks ago.
On his way to the East coast, Vadim's pain gradually grew worse, forcing him to seek dental help in Oklahoma.
The dentist Vadim visited cleaned his infected tooth and proscribed him antibiotics for the infection. At first, the treatment seemed to work and he reached his destination in New York feeling much better, but as he set out on the return trip to California, the side of his face became swollen.
Young widow: Nataliya, pictured with Vadim during happier times, said doctors told her this week he was not going to make it
Happiest day: The young couple were married for four years and lived in Antelope, California
Nataliya said her brother-in-law, Miroslav Kondratyuk, rushed to Vadim's side hoping to bring him home for treatment, but his condition was rapidly deteriorating, forcing the brothers to stop in Utah and check the ailing Vadim into a hospital.
Doctors labored for four days to try and curb the spread of the infection, but to no avail: Vadim's lungs ultimately filled up with fluid, rendering him unable to draw a breath, and he suffered a fatal heart failure on Monday, with Nataliya at his bedside
‘I don't think you could find a better husband,’ the young widow tearfully said of Vadim. 'I know he's in heaven. He's a happy person right now. He's gonna be my angel for the rest of my life.’
A friend has set up a GoFundMe page to help bring Vadim’s body home to California, to pay for his funeral expenses and to provide for his widow and their two children, who were left without income because Kondratyuk was the sole breadwinner in the family.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the fundraiser has drawn more than $101,000 in donations, and counting.
Girls' guardian angel: Nataliya is now left to raise the couple's two daughters, 2-year-old Vanessa (left) and 11-month-old Maya (right)
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