I maintained and reviewed this website again and again for the months of April and May. As things were slowly getting better for mark, I didn't update and look through the pages as much, if ever within the last month. I visited today to try to print it out for a keepsake for Mark and myself. I got so emotionally overwhelmed once again while reading through the guestbook and feeling all the love and support everyone has given. Its actually quite amazing!! We are blessed! Looking through the pictures and seeing Mark's face in them. He doesn't even look like himself. It brings me back to how I was feeling in the Hospital, SCARED. I look at Mark now and he looks full and vibrant. What a difference a few months makes. Mark is finished his physical thearapy and has started back to work as of last Friday, and I think he's handling it well. He is just so strong. It makes me so happy to see him play and laugh like he used to! He is still on some medications that prevent him from doing some of the things he used to, like playing paintball and having a few drinks, but soon enough he will be off all the meds and back to his old self again.
_________________________________________________________________________________________ June 3, 2008 With special thanks and gratitude to Papa Joe. Whose courage and stability never wavered. While our friendship was strong it has now been forever changed for the better. His kind hearted nature is made even more evident by his wonderful family and we are truly blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives. Thank You Papa Joe, Terry, Brittany & Joey! _________________________________________________________________________________________
May 29. 08 6pm Thank you to everyone who purchased a ticket to the benefit and donated to "The Boucher fund". Your donation's will help us immensley while mark is out of work. He is working on the thank you cards. Life is becoming a little more normal again. He's still doing therapy for his muscle atrophy and also for his blood, while in the ICU he had a bloodclot which put him on blood thinnners and is still on them and it restricts the amount of "play" he can do ie: paintball, hiking, running around like a maniac. A very BIG thankyou to Mary, Gary, Brian, Laura F, my mom Diane, Jeremy, Laura S, Krysta, Martin, Tyler, and all the rest of our friends and familys who loved and supported Me (Lisa) through this entire thing, without them I'm not sure I would've made it.
May 11, 08 9am The beneft it was great last night. Mark as so excited to see all of his coworkers and friends. He wants to let everyone know that he misses them dearly! He was upset that he wasn't able to talk with everyone for as long as he wanted to. But that's the state of his condition. He tires very easily. By the end of the night he was exhausted. He wants to thank everyone who showed up and those who couldn't make it. A special thanks to Bruce, Mike and Danny, who used their spare and family time to pull off this event. Mark and his family are very grateful for their hard work. Thanks to everyone who made donations for the raffle and everyone who donated their time. Mark would also like to thank Nathan for his Team Mark drawing, Aiden for his picture of the elephant, and Madaline for her q-tip rainbow painting. Mark loved all the pictures and they made him feel a lot better. He hopes everyone had a great time last night and can't wait to see everyone again soon. Mark had a lot of fun and smiles!
May 8, 08 4:12p Mark is out of rehab today. He is still getting adjusted to life. He's very happy to be home. He's working on getting his strength back. He is still very tired.
May 5, 08 9:10p FROM MARK: I, I'M STILL ALIVE , AS LONG AS I CAN SEE YOUR FACE I KNOW I I'LL BE ALIVE. I'M WORKING WELL THROUGH RE-HAB. AND WILL BE BETTER SOON. HOPEFULLY WILL BE BACK HOME SOON. THANKYOU FOR YOU WISHES AND PRAYERS.
Mark will be meeting with the doctors tomorrow and will then know his discharge date. They tell him he is doing really well. He will need time to recouperate. His body is very sore, and he is very tired. After his discharge he will still need outpatient rehabilatation. He can't wait to go home and hang out will mr. milo (our dog).
May 4, 08 7:30p Mark made it to rehab. Fairlawn in Worcester. It seems like a pretty good place. Mark would rather be home. He will know on Tuesday or Wednesday when his discharge date will be. We are trying to get a day pass for the benefit this Saturday but who knows if the doctors will let him go. I know everyone can't wait to see him. If people want to visit after 4pm you can try to give him a call at (508) 944-8301. I can't guarantee that he will answer but it's worth a shot.
*April 30,08 7:40p Marks "surgery" went well. It wasn't really surgery, just a procedure. He was awake and aware through the whole thing. So if all goes as planned we should be leaving for rehab tomorrow at 10 am.
April 30,08 2:28p Mark was supposed to leave for rehab today but it is now postponed till tomorrow. We were talking to his doctor and mentioned the blood clot and the "net" they put in him a couple weeks ago. The arterial doctors decided to check out the clot again via ultra sound and it looks like the clot is mostly gone. Marks options were to leave the net in for the rest of his life with a small chance of a blocked artery and a long month or so of pain and swelling in his legs OR take the net out and have a chance of the clot disinagrating and everything will be fine or possibly the clot could move up into his heart and cause some problems. He chose the latter due to the fact that the chances of the clot moving up is very slim and the clot is almost gone anyways. He is still on blood thinners and will be for 6 months. He's in surgery right now and has been put back on the Versed and Fentanol (pain and sedation meds) so I'm thinking he's going to come out of this surgery in his little spaceship again. He was kind of concerned about going back on the meds again because he wants his thinking to be clearer and clearer everyday. He was offered to do the surgery without the meds but thought better of it for his anxiety. I will let everyone know soon enough how the surgery turned out.
____________________________________________________________________________________________ April 29, 08 8:48p So Mary and I took a look at Fairlawn rehab today and decided that it's a good place for Mark. We leave tommorow! It will probably be a two week stay. He's stil doing well, very tired though. So we will be limiting visitors at the rehab for a bit, but we will definately let everyone know when he's feeling up to it. He's got his appetite back, and craving sweets. He's likes to hear the story of what happened to him since he can't remember it himself. He wishes he were conscience for the helicoptor ride says "It would have been bad ass!" Maybe one of the DART guys can get us a hat! Have you checked out the new photos? Take a peak! ____________________________________________________________________________________________
April 28, 08 7:14a
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________Expect a Miracle! Mark is amazing he is about 98% back. He has some memory issues, not knowing how he knows some people, but he knows he knows them. Also He can't remember the Month, date and year. He knows we are to marry in 2008 and I just tell him its 2008 now and we can postpone the wedding if he wants, but he doesn't. He's pretty sure of us and it's such a relief to me. All the drugs are out of his system so he's not delusional anymore. He's pretty amazing!! A few days ago he wanted a cigarette but this morning he said it's just not worth it any more. He now has voulenterally given up smoking! He will be leaving for rehab as soon as we find a place. I personally think it is only going to be a couple weeks. He is just so strong. I thank god everyday for Mark's life. He is a miracle! ____________________________________________________________________________________________
April 26, 08 1:03p Mark is so amazing! Just within in a day he has improved physically and mentally. Because he is now off all IV drips e got his first shower in 3 weeks today! He is so strong, his walking is getting better by the minute he is suppose to use the walker but he just lifts it up and walks! He was dancing around this morning. He thinks he's unbreakable but we have to constantly remind him to hold on to railings and pay attention to where he's going and what he's doing. He's still on a bunch of meds but off the pain meds all together. Alot of the loopyness is gone, but does come in and out when he gets really tired. He is ready to leave the hospital to go to an Acute rehab facilitly. We have a few picked out that we are going to tour. If anyone knows anything about the ones we have listed here please tell us all the good and bad points about them. Worcester: Fairlawn Rehab hospital. Fitchburg: Burbank-Spaulding Please let us know if you know any other Rehab facilitys also. Thank you to everyone for you love and support. Mark is starting to read all the guestbook entries, and he's loving every comment!!!
*April 25, 08 11:37a Since waking up this morning Mark has improved tremendously!!! His mind seems alot clearer today, I am much more confident in the fact that Mark will make a full recovery. He is amazing, in just a few hours he's gone from spaceship to reality!! That's Mark for ya! He still need alot of rehab still but its such a relief to see and talk to him today!!!! GO MARK!! April 25, 08 6:32a Day 20 Mark is improving incredibly physically. We do have some major concerns mentally. He is not himself. It could be ICU delirium or could be from the lack of oxygen. We need your prayers for marks Mental health. He is still full of laughs. We will only know with time.
April 23, 08 9:36p Day 18 Great news, Mark is cleared to leave the ICU. We are just waiting on a room. He's doing good today. Still a little emotional, but he watches tv and laughs hysterically!!! Oh to see him laugh and smile brings such joy to me. He is now completely off all pain meds, but he has alot of withdrawl symptoms like tremmers and he still is very loopy. He only has one IV drip of a blood thinner for clots since he isn't moving much. Mark knew his full name his birthday, where he worked and what his job is!! They took out the catheter and poop thing. He's doing physical therapy everyday and improving everyday.
April 22, 08 10:04p day 17 It's been a busy day for Mark. He did some physical therapy, a few leg and arm lifts for now. He tried some food to see if he could swallow started off with water which he loved, then tried some egg custard which he thought was very synthetic! and half a graham cracker. All of that stayed down. He is a little nauseous, he had some purees for dinner and a whole carton of milk which did not stay down to well. He went for an x-ray on his neck to see if he can get the coller off, but we have'nt heard the results yet. His mental state is a little unstable, he's very emotional and scared. He often thinks he's in a war zone. He thought he was shot. I keep reassuring him everything is fine and he's safe and that he was in an accident and is now in a hospital in NH, and that he's getting better everyday. The doctors think he could leave the ICU tomorrow or the next day depending if he's weened off the Pain meds or not. Things are looking up. He knew his name and birthday this morning when asked but did not know the president or the year. We will really know if there is any damage to his brain when he is off the pain meds. I feel really good about it I think he's going to come out of this just fine, I have my hopes up!
April 21, 08 4:56p day 16 Mark is a powerhouse! They pulled the ventilator out this morning!!! Didn't the docs say it was gonna be a few days!?!? He was scared at first but he would smile. There were some tears of course, he's been through hell and back. His voice is meerly a whisper right now but soon he'll be back talking everyones ears off. He's off the sedative, but is still on some pain meds, so he's acting a little loopy. One of the first things he said was "remember the snorks!" how strange. They also took the other tube that was draining the plural cavity out. He's so much stonger than the docs ever thought! We are looking forward to seeing his appetite grow. He said its like the Mojave desert in his mouth!!!
April 20. 08 9:28p Day 15 Mark is so amazingly strong! The doctors and nurses estimate times when he will be off this or that and he surpasses them every time! Last night we were talking and He started counting on his fingers so I asked him if he wanted to know the date, he did. It was really hard telling him its been two weeks, he seemed a little nervous. I just tell him he's safe and his family is here and that he's getting better everyday. He was so awake this morning and I was talking to him for a while. He mouthes words but I can't read his lips and he started signing (sign language), one of his many talents. I don't know the signs so I rushed to the computer room and looked up the american sign language alphabet. By the time I got back ten minutes later he was asleep. Maybe tommorow he can sign or possibly write. He's made so many awesome improvements within the last 48 hours. He's initiating ALL his own breaths, His peep is at 5 and O2 dropped down to 30%. Dr. Kelly said this morning if he keeps going like this he will be off the ventilator in a few days! They are still weening the pain meds and sedation, he was at an extremely high level for both of those. They also took the right hand side drainage of the plural cavity out today and he's tolerating it. He is remembering things we've said to him, he remembers the camo shirts! So everyone grab a camo shirt and join TEAM MARK!!! ____________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________
April 19, 08 7p day 14 Mark is continuing to improve. He's been off dialysis since thursday and his kidneys are stable. They are weening him off the pain meds and the seditives. He's becoming more responsive. He stays awake longer and he even turned his head towards me and made direct eye contact. We showed him the picture board his sister Laura made. We asked him if he remembered the accident, he said he didn't but he did remember kayaking with Papa Joe and the gang. His peep is down to 7 and his oxygen saturation is still really good. They have him on a different setting on the ventilator that allows him to take his own breaths every now and then. We will have to wait until monday to see what the next step will be. It's so great to know that he still remembers all of us. I tell him everyone is thinking about him and that he's become the obsession of many. A bunch of us are wearing camo t-shirts that say "team Mark" in honor of him and the nurse asked what it said (in front of Mark) and when I replied "team Mark", Mark chuckled! ___________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________
*April 18, 08 9:18p Things are coming along, Mark is still in critical condition but things are looking real positive. yesterday was a good day. His O2 concentration is at 40% we breath 21% the PEEP is down to 10 and some of the pressure levels have lowered so he is breathing a few breaths on his own. He's still got alot of time left on the ventilator. The CT scan showed a blood clot. They had to go in and put a "net" or screen to block the clot from moving to his heart. His temp is about average at about 99. The also found that his left plural cavity was filled with fluid too. I thought they drained both the first time. So they are draining that side now, but it will give his lung more room to expand and strengthen. He really seems to be striving forward! He is Mark after all!!
April 18, 08 8:26a day 13 We talked to Dr. Kelly last night. He looked at Marks x-ray and said his left lung has whited out. It could be a number of things. They sent him down to get a CT scan. We have no results of the scan yet. They moved him around alot and his saturation has stayed high around 99%. As of this morning his temp is down and he is on antibiotics. His fever could have been caused by a number of things, infection in his "lines" (all the tubes he's attatched to) or an absess. He is moving his bowels today, with the help of a stool softener. It's a real good step forward. It's been quite a few days since he's made a movement. (I'm pretty sure Mark might be a little upset I'm talking about his poo to the whole world!) He is somewhat alert. It's so good to talk to him, he responds by squeezing my hand and nodding. We think he might have even laughed. He seemed to be really anxious yesterday so they have been giving him some antianxiety medication to calm his nerves.
4/17/8 6:38 I want to make myself clear. He is "awake" but he has been awake since day one, until they put him on the paralytic. He is "awake" and responsive but still under heavy sedation. I might have been a litte overly excited and quick to announce the news when Mark was responding to my voice. We want to thank everyone for the wonderful compasion you all are showing. It really keep our good spirits up and it helps us help mark. Please keep it coming. April 17, 2008 1:20p day 12 A few good things are going on with Mark today. He seems to be digesting and he is completely off of the Nitric oxide. He is running a high fever of 103 . We don't know what is causing the fever yet but they are doing cultures on his blood and urine. It will take about 24 hours to see any growth of bacteria. He still "wakes up" but is a little off due to the narcotics. I can see the fear in his face when he wakes. He tries to talk and it messes up the ventilator a little bit, so I try not to agitate him. ____________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________
*April 16,08 3:50pm The paralytic has been stopped I'm not sure when. Could have been this morning or last night. He is awake!!! He is responding to commands and when I talked to him about things that are going on he is reacting with eyebrow twitches and hand and feet twitches. The nitric is now at 9.3 ppm and the oxygen concentration at 50% is saturating at 99% so I'm not sure when they are going to start dropping the concentration. He is amazing!!
April 16, 2008 Day 11 Mark is doing good. They stopped the NG feeding tube because he's not digesting it quick enough. They've lowered the Nitric oxcide to 15 ppm he was at 30 ppm. The nurses are turning him to bathe him and his saturation is staying pretty steady, a major improvement. I think it has a lot to do with the fluid they are draining from his plural cavity. Just a few days ago if they turned him his O2 saturation would drop into the 70% which is not safe. They want the saturation to stay in the 90%. His PEEP is at 12 and that is a good improvement. They should be stopping the paralytic soon, but it takes a few days to wear off. Mark I am so proud of you! ____________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________
April 15, 2008 Day 10 Mark is still holding strong, his blood pressure and heart rate are a little high so they are giving him a medication to keep them regulated. They are trying to ween him off the oxygen and the PEEP (PEEP is an adjuvant to the mode of ventilation used to help maintain functional residual capacity (FRC). At the end of expiration, the PEEP exerts pressure to oppose passive emptying of the lung and to keep the airway pressure above the atmospheric pressure). They then can start to lower the Nitric oxide (The endothelium (inner lining) of blood vessels use nitric oxide to signal the surrounding smooth muscle to relax, thus resulting in vasodilation and increasing blood flow. Nitric oxide is highly reactive (having a lifetime of a few seconds), yet diffuses freely across membranes.) He is only geting nutrients through an IV feed right now because he is not digesting through his gut which is cause by the high amounts of narcotics used to keep him under sedation. Once they start to ween him off of the ventilator they then can lower the sedation and feed him through his gut. But Mark is holding steady and stong thanks to everyone's prayers and positive energy he will overcome this. Marks doctor David Kelly took a look at his Chest x-ray this afternoon and said it looked better than it had previously. They did find some excess fluid in his plural cavity which is a space between the lungs and chest wall. They attached a tube and drained off almost a liter of fluid. It's going to help with his ability to expand the lungs. His swelling has gone down due to the dialysis. They are trying to take out 2 liters of fluid a day. He is looking more like himself and not a bloated linebacker! Mark is also back to the NG tube for feeding through his gut. Also check out the new "His own positive energy" page.
April 13, 2008 Day 9 Mark is stable. His oxygen saturation is good. He is still in critical care, still on a paralytic and a sedative. He is digesting nutrition at 20 drops an hour. He is on dialysis to take the strain off his kidneys. dialysis also keeps his energy to heal the lungs and to reduce the swelling from all the fluids he's receiving. They say he could have pneumonia and scarring but we are still uncertain because of the ARDS (adult respitory distress syndrome). ARDS is the body's reaction to trauma and/or infection. Doctors are treating the infection with a strong antibiotic, but we are waiting for the ARDS to reverse itself. All the nurses and Doctors are amazing. Today was a good day, Mark and his family and friends appreciate all your prayers and good intentions! Please keep them up!
