On Saturday April 6th, while Mark and I were on a canyoning trip in South Africa's Garden Route National Park, Mark suffered a bad accident that left him with a broken tibia, fibula, pelvis and calcaneous (heel bone).
We were very lucky to be transported to a great hospital in nearby Knysna, where he has undergone 3 surgeries to date. The hospital staff want to keep him here for an additional 2 weeks before he's taken to a recovery center to complete another few weeks of in-patient rehab. We're hoping that this time and effort will give Mark the space to heal and be physically capable of making the flight home to reunite with his family. 


Mark has already started to recover amazingly, and I’m confident that his strength and tenacity will get him through this intense healing process.

Unfortunately, Mark’s insurance policies did not cover injuries resulting from this type of activity, so the entire financial responsibility has fallen on him and his family. Given the extent of his injuries and the time he will be here in South Africa for recovery, the cost is going to be quite high. We are hoping to reach out to our wonderful network of friends and family for help to lighten the financial burden this has placed on us. We would greatly appreciate anything you can do to help; even sharing this page can make all the difference.

Thank you all so much for your love and support.

              ~Valentina and Mark