Serious Accident

Just Eight Weeks After Her Wedding, Nadine Is a Widow

Karl and Nadine: Their happiness lasted only three and a half years; their marriage lasted only a few weeks.(Bild: Nadine Stephan)

A mother of two from Braunau in Upper Austria is left with nothing following a tragedy. Her husband (37) was injured in an accident at a construction site and died after 25 days in the hospital. Nadine says, “Karli was the love of my life.”

“We were childhood sweethearts; when we were eleven or twelve, we’d meet every week on the same day at the same time at the Stecherweiher in Braunau. That went on for two years. Then we lost touch, but we always knew what the other was up to,” says Nadine S. (37). Twenty years later, it clicked—Nadine and Karl met again.

“It was as if he’d held on just for us”
“We got together on February 23, 2023; we got married on June 26, 2026—and he passed away on August 23, 2026, after 25 days in the intensive care unit. The 23rd was especially important to him as ‘our day.’ Karli always gave me flowers on that day, sent me a WhatsApp message, or did something special. It was as if he’d held on just for that reason,” says the grieving widow.

It was a love match: Karl and Nadine (both 37). Eight weeks later, the beaming groom died in a hospital in Graz.(Bild: Nadine Stephan)

A fall from scaffolding had fatal consequences
On July 29, Karl was in Graz, working there as a painter on a construction site. The scaffolding he was standing on began to wobble; the man from Braunau fell backward 2.5 meters and struck the back of his head. “His skull had fractured from back to front. At first, he was in the neurological intensive care unit with a severe traumatic brain injury. As early as the second day, a doctor told me that he was brain dead. But then she checked again, and the areas of his brain were active once more. But on the fourth day, he had no pupillary response,” says Nadine.

Still, the mother of two didn’t give up. “I said, ‘I don’t care about any of that. Even if he has to stay in the rehab clinic for a year. I’ll take care of him myself at home.’ I have multiple sclerosis; I also experience recurring episodes of brain dysfunction. Karli has always helped me. I owe that to him.”

Then an infection set in, followed by sepsis
But on top of the severe brain injuries came a life-threatening infection, the cause of which remained unclear for a long time. As a result, all his blood test results deteriorated, and Karl S. had to be transferred from the neurological intensive care unit to the medical intensive care unit.

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“The doctors were constantly looking for the bacteria, but didn’t know what was causing the infection. Then he also developed sepsis,” says Nadine. Despite all the medical care, there was nothing more that could be done for him. “I gave him one last kiss, told him I loved him, and that he’d been brave,” Nadine says softly: “He was the love of my life.”

“I’ve been carrying so much pain inside me ever since”
The 37-year-old owns a bridal shop in Simbach, but can’t imagine continuing: “How am I supposed to advise anyone when I have so much pain in my life?” Financial worries are also weighing on her: The two of them had been saving for a year and a half for their dream wedding. And now there are the costs of the funeral, which will take place on Friday in Braunau. A crowdfunding campaign is underway—and the “Krone” family is also helping (see box above).