Support Mark Willis's Emergency Medical Costs

Hi everyone, my name is Sarah and I am Mark and Polly Willis's daughter. I am starting this GoFundMe to help support my parents financial needs during this time. My Dad Mark, suffered over 20+ strokes on both Saturday the 8th and Sunday the 9th. On Sunday he was airlifted to Swedish Cherry Hill and underwent an emergency procedure which saved his life. He had 2 stents place to support his carotid artery and is on heavy blood thinners to ensure that he doesn't have another stroke.

Thankfully on the morning Tuesday January 11th my Dad made major neurological strides. While he will have a long road of recovery to get back to himself the doctors and nurses were thrilled at his progress.

However on the afternoon of Tuesday the 11th my Dad started bleeding with bowel movements and has yet to stop. He has been stable but he will undergo more scans, tests and procedures to find out what is causing the bleeding. We will update you all as we find out what the next steps are in his healing process.

So how can you help? You can help my parents cover the cost of the helicopter ride, numerous MRI's, 2 hospital stays (which are ongoing), PT, OT, speech therapy, hotel stays, food and more. My parents thank all of you for your support, prayers and kind words through this terrifying process. We will continue to keep you as updated as possible. Your support means everything, thank you.

FACEBOOK UPDATES

January 10th Facebook Post

Friends and family, my Mom and I thought it would be good for us to let you all know what is going on in our family. On Saturday morning my Dad, Mark Willis, went into the ER with my Mom, Polly Caughron-Willis. He had a horrible migraine and had minor stroke like symptoms. An MRI was done and they found a carotid dissection, a tear in his artery within his neck. We were told he would be put on blood thinners and hopefully improve and the dissection would heal.

Sunday my Dad’s symptoms worsened including confusion and his ability to speak. Another MRI was done and they found on Saturday and a Sunday he had experienced 20+ small strokes each day. He was quickly airlifted to Swedish Cherry Hill and underwent a procedure to put a stent in his artery. They found he had a very large clot within his artery where their was narrowing. This narrowing was holding back the large clot but it was causing many little strokes as pieces of the clot passed through. Thankfully the procedure was successful and he had 2 stents placed. He is still at risk for a stroke as his body heals.

My Mom and I are currently in Seattle but unable to see him because COVID fucking sucks. He is under amazing care and we have been able to FaceTime with him. It is hard to keep everyone updated so for now assume no news is good news and we’ll try and update you all here. Please send prayers, love and light to my Dad. He has a long road of healing ahead. We thank you all for your prayers and thoughts already.

Feel free to share this post or any future regarding my Dads progress.

January 11th Facebook Post

Hello again quick update on my Daddy. Thank you for all of your prayers and support because we have all good news at the moment. He has been progressing really well and his communication has improved greatly. My Mom Polly Caughron-Willis and I were just able to speak with him and he sounded like himself. Itching to get out of the hospital as soon as possible.

All in all the stents have done their job and have increased blood flow to the left side of his brain (where the strokes happened). The right side looks perfectly healthy with no issues.

He will be staying at Swedish to undergo some intensive speech, occupational and physical therapy. The poor guy is going to be put to work to get his body functioning again.

All in all we are very happy to have spoken with his NP this morning and get all of our questions answered and to hear his voice. Keep sending love to him, if you know my Dad you know he hates doctors, lukewarm food and being trapped in a room. He’s living a nightmare right now being stuck where he is but we are grateful that the nightmare has good news.

My Mom and I will be staying in Seattle another night to be as close to him as possible and will continue to share news as we get it. Thank you all.

January 12th Facebook Post

Hi everyone, another update on my Dad Mark Willis. While neurologically my Dad continues to improve we have hit some roadblocks. My Dad started having intense intestinal cramping yesterday afternoon and has been bleeding with bowel movements. The cramping, bathroom trips and bleeding has been fairly nonstop since yesterday afternoon and continues today. We're unsure yet if/where there is an internal bleed as there is a delicate balance of making sure his blood is thin enough to ensure he doesn't have another stroke while also letting his body internally heal. Thankfully all of his blood work and vitals remain steady and he hasn't lost too much blood to cause alarm. As you can imagine he is absolutely miserable. He will be staying at Swedish to undergo more testing. We just spoke to his NP and he will be undergoing a CT scan and more testing to find out what is happening. Keep the prayers, good thoughts and love coming.

I am also starting a GoFundMe page for my parents to help with medical costs to come and the costs that emergency events like this bring on. Your financially support would help lift this financial burden off their shoulders.

Thank you again and I'll keep updates coming.