For the first 8 hours in the hospital Mark’s blood pressure was so low that they could not give him any pain medication, so it was a rough night for him. It took 6 hours to stabilize his vital signs. He was in intense pain we were all really fearful, but he pulled through. He had a fractured ankle, two breaks in the opposite leg’s femur, a pelvis broken in numerous places, a bruise on the frontal lobe of his brain, bruised lungs, and severe “road burn” on his back. Saturday evening, Mark was stable enough to have surgery on his legs. A pin was put in the ankle and a rod in the femur of the other leg. There was minor bleeding in the frontal lobe of the brain, but Mark is talking and behaving like his “pre-injury self” so that is an excellent sign.
After surgery, Mark is now able to sit up in bed. He is still hemorrhaging in his abdomen and pelvis, which is requiring them to give him blood. There is still concern about internal injuries, because his stomach is so swollen. He is being given daily CT scans to monitor his organs. The concern about his lungs lessens every day that he continues to breath on his own. Praise God for that! As you can imagine, Mark is feeling very defeated at times. He is in a lot of pain and I think still a bit in shock regarding what happened. Please pray that his condition will stabilize enough so that he can move out of ICU. Specifically, that the CT scan will reveal no injury, that the hemorrhaging will stop, and that his lungs will continue working on their own. And please pray for me and the family, that we can worry less and trust more, and that we can maintain our strength to support Mark.
