ANTELOPE, Calif. – A California husband and father of two girls died after a tooth infection spread to his lungs.
KTXL reports Vadim Kondratyuk Anatoliyevich, 26, died Monday in Utah, two weeks after complaining of a toothache before the truck driver left to begin a cross-country drive.
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While on the road, Anatoliyevich was seen by a dentist in Oklahoma who cleaned the infected tooth and prescribed antibiotics.
The infection continued to get worse, causing the side of Anatoliyevich's face to become swollen.
Anatoliyevich soon became too weak to continue to drive, forcing his brother to travel to bring him home. During the return journey, Anatoliyevich became too sick and was checked into a Utah hospital.
Days later, Anatoliyevich's wife, Nataliya, was told by doctors there was nothing more they could do after the infection had entered her husband's lungs.
Monday, Anatoliyevich died in the hospital.
"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 and he's gonna help me through this whole time without a dad and without a husband," Nataliya told KTXL.