Colorado dad left on ventilator and facing $150k bill after catching superbug on vacation nightmare

A Colorado father has been left brain-damaged and reliant on a ventilator in Copenhagen after contracting a superbug .

Guy Matlock was on his first trip outside the US, celebrating his wedding anniversary when he fell ill during a cruise around Northern Europe with his wife Adrien, just six days into their vacation.

His daughter Moriah revealed to KDVR that Matlock began showing flu-like symptoms which rapidly escalated into something far more severe. She explained: "They pulled into port as soon as possible...They found that he had flu A, pneumonia, and sepsis, essentially turned into a super virus within his body and started attacking his major organs."

The situation quickly deteriorated, leading to Matlock suffering cardiac arrest and lung failure, resulting in brain damage.

He is currently being treated at a hospital in Copenhagen and needs a ventilator to breathe. His family believes he would be more comfortable at home and are fundraising for a medical evacuation to bring him back to the US.

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Moriah told KDVR: "It's very isolating in a different country, a country where you don't know any of the language and there's so many different societal changes.", reports the Express US .

"His brain just isn't getting enough stimulation from the Danish society, because he just hears the different languages and he isn't able to compute."

The family is facing a financial crisis as they scramble to fund a medical evacuation that could cost up to $150,000. Matlock's wife Adrien remains by his side in Copenhagen, while their children had to return to Colorado with emergency passports.

Moriah shared her heartache: "No one can explain the sorrows that it can bring seeing someone so strong in such a not-so-strong state."

The threat of antibiotic-resistant superbugs looms large, with infectious disease epidemiologist Steffanie Strathdee warning CNN earlier this year: "It's estimated that by 2050, 10 million people per year - that's one person every three seconds - is going to be dying from a superbug infection."

Superbugs are harmful bacteria resistant to multiple antibiotics, potentially leading to sepsis and death.