Influencer, 28, dies after collapsing at party on island & spending months in hospital where she ‘couldn’t eat or walk’
A TRAVEL influencer who fell seriously ill after collapsing at a party on New Year’s Eve has died following a lengthy health battle.
Popular vlogger Vanessa Konopka was forced to stay in a hospital in Philippines for months as she lost her ability to eat and walk, according to her devastated boyfriend.
Doctors diagnosed Vanessa with pneumonia and severe liver damage when she was rushed in for treatment.
The Solingen-native was left bedridden by the illnesses as they took a toll on her body for weeks after the ill-fated party on the beautiful vacation island of Boracay.
During this time, Vanessa couldn’t speak, sit up by herself or go outside for fresh air.
As her condition slowly improved, she went back to posting online to her followers.
Vanessa ran a successful vlog alongside Brazilian boyfriend Fernando called “Happiness Crossing”.
It was usually filled with exciting footage documenting the couple’s travels but in the past few months it was footage from Vanessa’s hospital bed.
Fans soon started to grown concerned over Vanessa when her skin appeared to be turning yellow from jaundice in the videos.
But in a hopeful update on February 20, Fernando said his girlfriend was “out of danger”.
He wrote online: “Vanessa is out of danger now, she reunited with her mother and they are both now in Boracay [Philippines].
“They will wait a few more days until Vanessa gets strong enough so she can go back to Germany for treatment.”
Fernando, had set up a GoFundMe page to ask for donations from their followers to raise enough money to get an air ambulance to fly Vanessa home so she could be with her loved ones.
Tragically, just two weeks after the update, Vanessa passed away.
Heartbroken Fernando confirmed she died on March 7 as he said: “Once again, I can only ask for your prayers so that God may bring comfort to the hearts of her loved ones.
“I trust in him, I know he is with Vanessa and I know God is always with us.
“Kushka, if you are perhaps reading this somewhere, thank you so much for teaching me how to love myself, it doesn’t matter what other people think, she showed me how to love myself, and how to follow my dreams.
“I will forever love you and we may see each other again.”
The couple first met in Australia before they moved in together in the Philippines in December 2022.
They lived happily on Boracay, where they recorded lots of content showing of their ideal island lifestyle.