Tuesday, April 14

Another day behind us, and Mark has remained stable. (WOOHOO!!)
They took the skin samples today to be sent for cloning. The samples were on a plane by early afternoon and should be in Boston now. It will be 2-3 weeks before the first of the skin specimens are ready to be grafted.
Infectious disease is being consulted regarding the cultures that were obtained to determine what antibiotics need to given. And the catheter that was placed in his heart yesterday is showing that Mark has reasonable heart function at this point.
Mark had his first bowel movement today, (two of them actually) another milestone. His temperature has remained within normal limits, so no heat lamps have been needed. All in all, it has been a good day.
During our meeting with Dr Guy today we were able to share a lot with him about who Mark is as a person. We spoke of his interests, personality, and looked through some photos of Mark with he and some of the other staff. Dr Guy told us that he had looked up the news stories about Mark, and said how impressed he was with all of the people who cared about Mark in the community who had left comments on those stories. It meant so much that he wants to know who Mark is. He also shared some positive survival stories with us. I've said it previously, but I can't say enough how happy we all are that Mark is where he is. He has some absolutely amazing doctors and nurses on his side. They are all truly special people.
Tomorrow morning will be Mark's second surgery. They will place his trach, remove the burned skin from his back, and if status allows, will also remove some of burned skin from his neck. They will get started with their surgical schedule around 7:30 am, and Mark is first on the list. The surgery should last approximately 2 hours. Obviously this will be another huge hurdle for Mark to clear. But one leap at a time, we have faith he will get there!