Mark Gyger, AA AMT, Medical Funds

Mark married his wife Kathy almost 32 years ago. Together they moved from Arizona to Oklahoma to Texas for his job at American Airlines 26 years ago, and raised their three kids in Decatur, TX.

In February of 2016, Mark visited a podiatrist for a diabetic ulcer.  Improperly treated by his doctor, the infection moved into the bone.  In September, Mark stepped off a trailer, and broke right fifth metatarsal, which had been greatly weakened by infection.  After an emergency amputation of the metatarsal and pinky bone.  This led him to be non-weight bearing on his right leg, and created difficulties returning to his prior life.

Unfortunately, the infection had spread more aggressively than predicted.  After switching to a more proactive doctor, Mark came to decision that he deserved more out of life than what he had.  After consulting with many medical professionals and family and friends, he came to the decision to amputate the foot.

On March 15, Mark had a below knee amputation on his right leg. On day 3, he was up and learning to use a walker.  In less than 2 weeks he was discharged from inpatient rehab and has been at home with his family, continuing outpatient rehab, and meeting with a personal trainer to build up his muscles and prepare for his first prosthetic.

While he is progressing amazingly and quicker than expected, he is unable to return to work until he is able to walk without an assistive device, meaning no wheelchair, walker, or crutch.  While fitting for a prostehtic can take a while, Mark looks forward to returning to American as soon as possible.

As you can guess, Mark is out of sick and vacation time and is having to go unpaid.  Mark and his family greatly need our help and support through this very difficult time.  Mark is hopeful that after recovering, he will be able to return to work and get back to a normal life as best as he can.