Update March 06, 2024
It has been close to 1.5 years since Mark’s accident. He has shown tremendous improvements in his health and continues his fighting spirit. After 7 extensive facial surgeries, his day to day functionality is coming together. Mark was able to eat normally after 1 year, his eyes have settled into their natural position, and he is able to move, close and open them properly. He continues to have right facial paralysis, which he works on daily with exercises and massage. Physically, Mark is very strong, but unfortunately still does not have any vision. We continue to wait for this vision to come back. Next week he has an appointment at a School for the Blind where he will have the opportunity to learn how to function independently without vision.
At the moment, he is undergoing numerous procedures with his plastic surgeon to reconstruct a large hole on the right side of his skull as well as a small hole under the left eye. The procedures are costly, not covered by insurance, but necessary with the hope that this will help his facial paralysis further improve. Also, as a continuation after his last jaw surgery (which allowed him to eat again), he is working with an orthodontist to preserve the result of the surgery (so it doesn’t collapse), and improve his bite and speech.
He continues to receive scalar healing therapy in order to keep rebuilding his brain tissue.
As his parents, we continue to help him in all situations. We are both semi-retired and work part-time. Mark receives a small social security disability benefit. All together this is just is not enough to cover all the bills and living expenses. As uncomfortable as this is, we are asking for more help as bills are adding up. We are forced to continue to look for funds and greatly appreciate any further help. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts to all the amazing people who have helped thus far. Your generosity cannot be put into words. Please continue to keep Mark in your thoughts and prayers.
Update November 08, 2023
It has been over a year since Mark’s accident and every day we thank God that he is here with us. It has been a long road to recovery and Mark has done amazing! Even though he still does not have any vision, Mark is in great spirits with a positive attitude and continues to believe he will see again one day. Many of Mark’s friends visit and call him regularly, which he really appreciates and enjoys! It is what keeps him motivated to further improve. He spends lots of time listening to music and singing along. With the help of the phone (Siri) he is able to contact friends and play music.
On September 27th Mark underwent his fifth facial surgery to repair his upper and lower jaw as he was unable to chew or eat solid food. After a successful, very complex 7 hour surgery, Mark had a big recovery ahead of him. The thought of eating again encouraged him greatly. On November 7th, after 7 weeks of recovery, Mark was able to get the wires and splint removed. It was a very special day for him as he got to eat a chocolate chip cookie and his requested meal of homemade chicken cutlets. It will take some time for his jaw muscles to gain strength but he is enjoying every moment being able to eat again. We are very thankful that there is one surgeon in Arizona who was able to perform this complicated surgery. Unfortunately the surgery was not covered by insurance and cost $17,000 out of pocket, but was necessary for Mark to move forward and enjoy the simple pleasure of eating that we all take for granted.
Before the surgery Mark was getting very strong physically and his right facial paralysis was improving slowly. Since the surgery, physical therapy was put on hold as he was instructed to avoid any strenous activity in order to focus on healing. Mark is an inspiration to all of us. He understands it takes time for the body to heal and that he has more surgeries ahead of him, but he is in high spiritis. Thank you everyone for all your prayers and please continue to keep him in your thoughts.
Pictures to follow:
1. Recovering after surgery
2. Taking a walk with mom
3. First time eating solid food after a year
4. First chocolate chip cookie
Update April 9th, 2023
Mark arrived home from the hospital on March 2nd and is very happy to be home (as are we) but there are many new challenges in front of us. Mark does home therapy daily and 2 to 3 times a week we drive him to the Barrow hospital for physical, occupational, and speech therapy. He also receives scalar frequency healing therapy twice a week. Our son can walk and dress himself, while he needs assistance to eat. On March 26th he had his G-tube (feeding tube) removed and he continues to eat liquid food (smoothies, protein shakes, soups) only since he is not able to chew yet. Mark’s speech is improving daily as well. He tends to get tired very quickly and requires a lot of rest. The biggest hurdle at the moment is Mark’s vision. He still cannot see from either eye. He has seen a neuro-ophthalmologist and a neuro-optometrist and has been referred for further evaluation specifically in regards to to his right eyelid (incomplete eyelid closure), which has caused problems with his right cornea (front part of the eye). We continue to keep faith that his vision will return with time as his body heals. We are so thankful that Mark is here with us today and improving tremendously. Please continue to pray and send positive energy to Mark.
Update February 26th, 2023
Mark had his stitches removed from his scalp and his head is healing well. On February 11th Mark had his tracheotomy tube removed and received a positive result on a test that checked for if he could swallow safely, which gave the green light to begin giving him liquid food with a spoon. Currently he still gets most of his calories via G-tube (feeding tube placed directly into the stomach). Mark has started to speak and ask questions. His speech is not very clear and needs more practice, but is showing steady improvement. The great news about his vision is that he is beginning to see light and at times he can see some colours. His walking has improved tremendously and he is working on his balance. Mark’s discharge date is set for March 2nd so he can finally go home! He received a referral to continue physical, occupational, and speech therapy in an outpatient setting twice a week for 2 months. Once he is home he will also continue to see specialists who will further help him on his path to recovery. Mark is very excited to go home after almost 5 months in the hospital. We are ready to bring him home where he will continue therapy in a dedicated area that we have set up specifically for his needs. We are so happy and blessed that he has shown so much progress and is returning home! We are hopeful that with further encouragement and a home environment he will thrive and heal more. Once again thank you so much for all the support.
Update February 5, 2023
Thank you so so much for the outpouring of support. We are so humbled by all the generosity. Please continue to pray to help him on his healing journey.
On January 19th (Week 15) Mark underwent a surgery to put back his right skull bone (that was initially removed to reduce brain pressure and perform brain surgeries) at Deer Valley Medical Center. On January 21st he had a surgery to remove the metal hardware from his mouth that was originally placed to keep his jaw bones together in order to heal. Mark spent one week in recovery and returned to Barrow Neurological Institute to continue therapy. Since then (Week 16), he has been making amazing progress. His left arm and leg became significantly stronger right after the skull surgery. He started to walk with a walker and assistance from the physical therapist. Mark is starting to repeat words and is learning how to swallow while working with the speech therapist He is also working with a vision therapist, but at this point he does not have much vision. The neurosurgeon informed us that it may take 12-18 months for this vision to return. At this time he continues to have therapy from 8am to 2pm daily working hard with a great team of therapists. Soon he will have the tracheotomy tube removed which will hopefully help improve swallowing and speaking. In the future he awaits more facial surgeries to improve functionality of his face. We are very happy with his progress and amazed he has come this far in such a short period of time.
Update December 26th, 2022
Thank you so much to everyone that has contributed to Mark’s campaign. We truly appreciate it from the bottom of our hearts. Please continue to pray and send good energy.
On Dec 20th (week 10) Mark was moved to Barrows Neurological Institute hospital/rehab clinic and it has been amazing so far. They are ranked one of the top neuro clinics in the world so he is in great hands. They have been working him very hard since he got there and are optimistic he can improve dramatically as he is very determined. The last place he was at did very minimal therapy so it is a breath of fresh air to be surrounded by such caring people. He has been working with physical, occupational and speech therapists for 3-4 hours per day. All the therapy exhausts him, so he spends the rest of the time sleeping and recovering. Mark has been doing amazing working on lifting light weights for upper body therapy and the physical therapists are working hard to get him walking again. With maximal assistance of the physical therapist he was able to stand and move his right foot forward on the parallel bars and they helped move his left foot forward to “walk” down the length of the bars (about 20ft) with breaks. With the speech therapist Mark was able to write responses down to some of her questions. For example his date of birth, his name, where his lives, where he works, and names of his family members. He still has a very long way to go but this progress is encouraging considering where he was at even a week ago.
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This is Mark Jamrych’s mom Teresa writing this. On Oct 15th, 2022, Mark’s life, at age 25, was turned upside down after a motorcycle accident near our home caused massive brain damage requiring multiple emergent brain surgeries and a craniotomy (removal of part of his skull). He was in a coma on life support and the doctor’s did not give him much of a chance of survival. But those of you who know Mark, know how much of a fighter he is and will not give up. The first two weeks there were many challenges to keep him alive including cerebral spinal fluid leaking through his nose (requiring a drainage shunt through his spine), extensive brain swelling, pneumonia, crushed facial and jaw bones, unstable brain/oxygen levels, and uncontrollable blood pressure levels to name a few. Thankfully Mark survived this due to his strong will and the help of an amazing medical staff. After three weeks, he had two facial reconstruction surgeries to repair his jaw, many facial bones, and his eye sockets.
Mark is showing signs of progression in such a short period of time. Three weeks post accident, he was able to move his fingers in his right hand and show a thumbs up. After four weeks, he could move his right and left arm as well as toes in his right leg. During the fifth week, he was able to move his head right and left and with two people’s help he could hold the sitting position and his head very briefly. By week 6 he knew his first and last name, his girlfriend’s name, and that he is in the hospital. He communicates by squeezing his hand, nodding his head yes or no, or thumbs up or down. He also demonstrated moving an object from one hand to the other as well as using a lip balm. Mark is making small progress each day. Meanwhile, he still awaits multiple facial surgeries in order to regain normal function of his face.
Mark is a very happy, good spirited person, who is always smiling, and ready to help people whenever in need. He is well liked and respected by many people and has a gift to bring joy to those around him. He is surrounded by his family and many friends who all strongly believe he will return to us as the Mark we all know joyful and smiling. We continue to pray and send him positive energy for his healing.
As you can imagine, there is a long and challenging road to recovery ahead with many costs. As difficult as it is to ask for financial support, Mark would be so grateful for any help to make his recovery as speedy with the best care possible. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers as collectively we can all contribute to his healing. This has been a mother’s worst nightmare, but I cannot express how thankful I am that he is here with us and for the outpouring of love and support we are receiving.