We got you Zach Marshall

UPDATE: 4/3 -

First off, we wanted to say thank you to everyone that donated, called or text caring and encouraging words, had Zach in their thoughts and or prayers, it really mattered, and helped.

Since the original post, Zach had 1 additional procedure at Penn, to cleanup and ensure the infection hadn’t spread any further. They then transferred him to the Jefferson Burn Center, which is where he is currently staying. Since he has been at Jefferson, he has had multiple skin grafts and plastic surgery to repair the right leg and scrotum, They were able to use his own skin (taken from his left leg) to do the grafts, which is really good news, indicating the doctors were confident in his ability to heal. His last procedure was Tuesday 4/2, the surgeon indicated it went very well, they will go back in on Saturday to inspect the grafts, and make sure everything is beginning the healing process properly. Zach is still in a good bit of pain, and they are toning down the pain medication, so that part is not easy, but the fact that is what is going on and where he is in the recovery process is good news.

If all looks good on Saturday they will be transferring him again, to a less intensive care rehab and recovery unit ( we are not sure where at as of yet). He has started the early stages of rehab, and he says it does suck. But he is tough and will deal with it and work to get himself better. The road to full recovery is still long, but it seems as though he is heading in the right direction

Zach (and the entire family) wants to thank everyone. The amount of support that he received and the amount of care that people showed toward him, touched him dearly. To the point he was emotional, and just floored about how many people wanted to support him, and were praying for him, and rooting for him. He didn’t even know how to express his gratitude. But he did say, it was a weight off of his shoulders, And it was the foundation that helped him fight through some of the toughest times.

He still has work to do, but it’s work he knows he can accomplish.

Thank you again everyone ! ❤️

Hey all, I have been getting a lot of calls, asking how Zach is doing, what is going on, and how we can help

TLDR: Zach slipped, fell, and had a slight pull in the groin area, the injury was the catalyst to a strep infection, which ran rampant, for a short time, and turned into septic shock, he has been in the ICU since Sunday, and has had multiple operations.

People have been asking us if there was anything they could do to help, or where they could donate to help, so we are starting up a GoFundMe, for him and the family.

Full version:

Last week on Thurs evening, Zach was at home around dinner time, he went to step over his lil pup Stitch, stitch moved and got himself underfoot in an attempt to avoid stepping on him, Zach stepped over, slipped and went down, slightly pulling his groin in the process, the next day he went to work, and was in significant pain, unable to work that day, he went to urgent care, they didn’t do much, gave him a muscle relaxer and said you should be ok. He was not ok, the next day, Saturday he was still in pain, more so then what the fairly insignificant injury should have led to. With some nudging from Steph, he went to a different urgent care, at this time, the bruising was getting worse, and the doc at this urgent care recognized the severity of the situation and sent him directly to the hospital via an ambulance.

By Sunday morning his conditioned worsened significantly, the doctors at Virtua voorhees, started to take action, this variant of strep, was very aggressive, by all accounts more aggressive then the doctors anticipated or where prepared for. After multiple operations, with little success, and his situation continuing to get worse, the decision was made to get him over to UPenn for additional more advanced treatment. The doctors at Penn were also baffled by the aggressiveness of this infection, they indicated that the only way to proceed was for very aggressive operations to get the infection under control. After another 2 operations in just over a day, the doctors felt as though they may be making some headway toward getting the infection under control, but Zach was in bad shape, his blood pressure was very low, and honestly, we felt as though we may lose him. Monday night was a hard night for all of us. But as is his nature. Zach fought, and would not be held down, his blood pressure stabilized and the latest concoction of antibiotics showed signs of working. By Tuesday morning, the doctors were confident that he fought well, and the battle was changing, from surviving, to the next steps, of keeping all of his limbs and a recovery plan.

It’s Friday now, Zach has had 1 more procedure, to see if the last 2 operations did the job of getting rid of all of the infection in his body, the doctors are confident that he is through the critical phase. There is still a long road to recovery, which he won’t even be able to start until his body starts the process of healing on its own and at that point they will be able to put the wound healing VAC on the location and help healing.

Zach had to have a significant amount of skin and flesh removed from his groin and thigh area of his right leg. He is currently at UPenn, and they are discussing what the best avenue for a recovery is, once he is able to start a recovery process. We are hoping he is out of the ICU at Penn by sometime next week, (once they are able to use the wound healing VAC) then he will be able to be in a regular hospital recovery room, at that point he will be able to have visitors. He will still have a long process of recovery, including skin grafts and plastic surgery’s. We do not have a time table for any of this yet. But will know more soon.

People have been calling, and reaching out, Asking about him, and what they can do for him, and if they could donate to help him out. We decided to start this GoFundMe, to help Zach and his family, he does have insurance, but a little help will go a long way with everyday expenses and the unseen expense of such an intense medical situation, that frankly the reason why is unknown, even the doctors were baffled by the speed at which this got so bad.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, and prayers even more so.

If there is anything we can say for sure. It is that Zach Marshall will hold up his end of working hard, and fighting, to make sure he gets through this and is walking with his kids and the rest of us as soon as possible.

Please do not send flowers they are not allowed to have them.