I pray that you and your families are all safe and well. This passage is quite lengthy but is necessary to share the events and details essential for you all to know. This past holiday season has indeed been a challenge for many of us. However, I would like us to draw our hearts and energies together for our dear cousin Martin King (lovingly known as "Marty" by friends and family). Several of us “Cousins” have rallied together as a team to support him. Our family had agreed with Marty that he was ready for us to share the state that he is currently in with more of our family and Marty’s dear friends. We wanted to share the timeline with you of our discovery of Marty’s hospitalization to his current status, so we have incorporated two accounts, mine and Cousin Wendie Sharpe-Williams to provide an overall picture.

 

Wendie: On November 26th, 2021, the day after Thanksgiving, my cousin Marty suffered a life-changing medical emergency. While going about his daily affairs at home, Marty wasn’t feeling well and subsequently passed out. We later learned that he was having a seizure. Fortunately for Marty, his roommates were home and found him lying unconscious and called 911. Upon their arrival, the EMTs immediately performed CPR as Marty went into cardiac arrest. Eight days later, Marty awoke from his coma and was told that he had suffered both a heart attack and a seizure before being brought to the hospital. In addition, sepsis quickly developed, and his body was starting to shut down, so, as explained to him, he was lucky to be alive. His medical team then informed him of the extent and severity of other pre-existing health issues. While he was blessed to have survived, the heart attack and seizure brought to light new problems and exacerbated pre-existing ones. He was informed that not only would he have to begin dialysis due to a newly diagnosed kidney failure, but a previous leg infection (due to complications attributed by his pre-existing diabetes) was also exacerbated.

 

Toni: Sunday, December 12th, I learned that Martin had been hospitalized. After my husband noticed several of his Facebook friends inquiring about his whereabouts, he was not posting his usual amount or responding to calls or texts. One of his close friends, Ms. Pat (Queen Afua) of Georgia, responded back to my husband and provided us with the hospital address and phone number when she learned of the same by sending a mutual friend to his home and his roommates living with him shared what happened. I was then able to call the hospital immediately to finally speak to him, where he informed me that he was having both legs amputated. I flew out that Thursday, December 16, to see him after the initial surgery on December 14th. The next day, when I walked into his room to see him for the first time, and in a micro-second, my brain froze as it slipped out of gear, then kicked in…I’m looking at mattress space where the rest of his body is supposed to be. It broke my heart and, I wanted to scoop him up in my arms, drop to the floor and cry. I had to pull it together, put my calm poker face on and be there for whatever he needed. I spent nearly seven hours with him, and during that time, I was able to speak with two of his doctors, one of his primary surgeons and the Nurse’s Supervisor on shift. His surgeon told me the previous day (when I flew in), he had a second procedure to remove more bone, tissue and muscle. The next day, as I arrived to check in with Security, I ran into Warren, Jr., who was leaving, so we sat down, and he filled in the gaps for me. Warren, Jr. had been there for Marty since he was first admitted and the primary person overseeing his uncles’ care and consent for all procedures. At that time, a week before Christmas, Marty shared with me that he wasn’t ready to share his condition just yet, and so we honored his privacy.

 

In addition to kidney failure, dialysis, pre-existing diabetes, and the two first surgeries, he had a third surgery yet to remove more bone, tissue, and muscle the following week. Marty was hardly eating and refused a feeding tube. Three days after that last surgery, Christmas Day, Warren, Jr. and I had a conference call with his surgeon. The long-standing infection is called diabetic necrotizing fasciitis (NF or gangrene). The doctors had not been able to stop the infection from spreading, and in Marty’s case, it was aggressive. After the doctor explained the details of his current state and what was still happening in his body, he highly recommended that Marty be moved to a skilled nursing facility for comfort and Hospice Care. Due to the Necrosis infection being so robust, his protien levels were dangerously low and unable to overtake the infection along with strong antibiotics.  Protein is very important for cell structure, helps with repair and maintenance of muscle and tissue, suitable enzymes and antibodies help to fight infection. The surgeon was adamant that they had exhausted all options and couldn’t do anymore due to this. He felt that it would be too torturous to continue removing more of his body from him. Therefore, he suggested comfort/hospice care. We, the family, had 24 hours to decide. The same day I shared with the other two cousins on the Team, we agreed, at this point, our primary goal was to ensure he was placed where they would provide the best care available to him, ensure he was as comfortable, and to manage his pain level from little to none, as best possible. Not only were we focused on his most immediate and primary need which is for him to be at his utmost comfortable and as pain free is reasonably possible, but as hopeful as we were for him to recover, we wanted to keep long-term plans in sight, yet also plan and prepare for short-term needs.

 

We, #TeamMarty, Me, Toni (Anne) Ralph-Starks (L.A. County), LaNita Mosely (Cleveland), Queen Alena Jones-Smith (San Joaquin County), his nephew, Warren King, Jr. (Oakland), had been working together ever since learning of Marty’s hospitalization to ensure his medical, personal, and fiduciary needs are maintained. Most recently, our extended cousins Wendie Sharpe-Williams (Stockbridge Henry County, Ga.), and Alexia Sharpe (Gwinnett County, Ga.) make up #TeamMarty.

 

Now, it seems there is only one path we need to plan. Today, January 23, 2022, we learned that Marty King has transitioned at 4:10 pm, and we now must now focus on his memorial to honor and celebrate his life.

 

We are humbly asking for everyone’s help. We ask that you please give what your heart leads you to give. If you will, feel free to contribute as often as you would like. The urgency here is to raise these funds by January 31, 2022

 

This is an undertaking none of us ever imagined we would find our dearest cousin going through. Now, Marty IS at rest and no longer suffering in pain. We know that he is loved by so many. Let’s reflect on how much he has touched our lives and the lives of so many over the years.

 

I will post the details of his memorial service once those arrangements have all been confirmed.

 

On behalf of Marty, we thank you in advance for your prayers, love and contributions. We love and appreciate you all immensely!

 

#TeamMarty