On September 10, 2022 Mark suffered his first stroke in his eye and lost his peripheral vision. After that he would randomly experience fainting spells which eventually landed him in the ER. He went thru countless tests, including an MRI, CT scans, and x-rays but at that time nothing was coming back with any clear explanation. Knowing Mark – who was always so active – golfing, going on fun adventures, cutting wood with Mary, sitting by the campfire up north enjoying good times with family and friends and doing anything to help anyone out – you could see the effects this started to have on him. He became less active, he was often chilled, at times quiet, just not the same Mark.

This summer passed without any major health issues, but still experiencing a lot of the above side effects.

On October 2 of this year Mark passed out while at home. He went to the doctor where they performed another MRI. His sodium levels were very low so he was kept in the hospital overnight for monitoring and additional tests. The tests he had mostly came back clear – but he had major blockage in his carotid artery. It was determined at that time that he needed to have a stent put in to clear the blockage in his artery and it needed to be done ASAP. He had a stress test done to be cleared for surgery and surgery was then scheduled for November 19th.

On November 19, 2024, Mark had surgery to clean up blockage in the main artery in his neck, which had 80% blockage. Immediately after his surgery he seemed to be doing well but once they moved him to a recovery room, he started experiencing stroke like symptoms. At that time, they performed an MRI and an ultrasound to determine what was causing these symptoms.

On November 20th, after meeting with the neurologist - we learned that he had 2 strokes which caused damage to both sides of Marks brain - causing him to experience some memory loss issues. In addition, he currently has no movement in his right arm, he has some strength in his right leg but no feeling. His body is only registering that they are touching one side.

A heart doctor and physical therapy will coming in to talk to them this afternoon to let them know what caused this and what could potentially happen going forward. But basically, at this point they have been told that the heart went in to A FIB which caused a clot that went to his brain. They are recommending Mark stay in the hospital for roughly 2 weeks to receive in patient physical therapy. It could take him a couple months to a couple years to completely regain full memory and feeling on his right side. Obviously, the more Mark works at it the better his chances are for a faster recovery. Physical therapy already started coming this afternoon and they had him up walking with the assistance of 2 nurses and a walker but it will most likely be a bit before he is walking on his own.Prior to this all happening – it wasn’t uncommon for both Mary and Mark to help you stack a pile of wood, water and cut your grass, helping out their kids and grandkids, or anyone for that matter, whenever they could. They were always doing something and when they were done with their own work, they would be right there helping the next person. With Mark not feeling well over the past year – most of the day to day chores fall on Mary and she never complains. You are never with Mary without her asking if you ate, and even if you say no, she will then insist you eat and then send you home with a heaping plate of food or dessert.

In conclusion – Mark has a long road ahead of him. They will be looking at having to reset the house to make it easier for him to get around. They have a split-level home with no main floor bedroom or bathroom – so this will prove to create some challenges. There will be medical bills coming in, travel expenses for Mary to go back and forth to the hospital and doctors appointments, which will also mean missing a lot of work for Mary. I am sure there will be many other expenses that they aren’t even thinking of yet.

Mary and Mark are very proud and would never ask anyone for help, but if you know them well you know they are the first ones to step in and help anyone out that they can. To help alleviate some of these unexpected financial burdens, we have set up this GoFundMe.

Our entire family would like to thank everyone for all the thoughts and prayers you have already extended to us. If you can help them financially, no matter how big or small, we would all be so grateful. At a minimum, please continue to pray for Dad and Mom too.

Love, The Family of Mark and Mary Rindt