Say some prayers for Mark Kelly

[Donny Drum Corps]

I talked to Mark yesterday from the hospital. He is quite worried about his prognosis. I have a number that you can call him at and he wants phone calls. I will give it out if you PM me.

He told me that he may lose some of his leg and is scheduled for surgery in the next few days. Lets dig in with those prayers.

I dont want to sound overly religious, but when I had to have a liver transplant in 2002, many people helped my cause with their prayers, I am sure of it. Then, RAMD was more popular, and there was a thread on there that many drum corps acquaintences jumped on wishing me well. I certainly helped me to know that so many people were showing their concern.

Donny

[spiniki]

I'm kind of a newby on this site but I've just read the whole thread and am praying that the surgery went well. It has been a while since anyone has posted here; what's going on and how's Mark doing? I hope everything is going well ^OO^

[Fred Steiner Jr.]

I'm kind of a newby on this site but I've just read the whole thread and am praying that the surgery went well. It has been a while since anyone has posted here; what's going on and how's Mark doing? I hope everything is going well ^OO^

Hi Niki,

Nice post BTW! I marched with Mark in the Brigadiers and have heard a few more things..... He did unfortuneatly (SP?) and when I called him 'bout a week and a !/2 ago...he was in pain, heavily medicated, etc. But, I found out a few days later he was released fm the hospital!! Nobody that I know knows how to contact him...etc. etc.

He always was a nice guy, and we know he didn't deserve this...... he is still in my prayers,and should still be in everyones!!!! He will have a tough time for quite a while with the prosthetic leg, physical therapy etc. all that pain and the S%^T that gets in his head is gonna be tough!

I am going to hope that SOMEONE will post some up to date info soon!!!

[SkipMebden]

I visited Mark Kelly at Kernan Hospital a couple of times while I was in Baltimore this past week. His contact info is:

Mark Kelly, Room 923-1

Kernan Hospital

2200 Kernan Drive

Baltimore, MD 21207

Phone in his room: 410.448.6549.

I happened to show up right when he was to have his first Physical Rehab session. He had had a BKA or Below the Knee Amputation of his left leg. It’s gone from about 4 inches below his knee cap. He’s about 60 pounds lighter and I must have walked past him a couple of times looking for a much larger guy in a wheel chair.

He was in excruciating pain from muscle spasms above and just below his knee and there were some tears. He was understandably afraid to move his leg for fear that another round of spasms would start, but this is a no-nonsense place. The physical therapist assigned him some exercises which he would have done forever if I didn’t tell him that he’d done his 30 reps. He was a little out of it from the heavy dose of muscle relaxers they gave him but the core of him was in there. He told me he was depressed and he told me it gets lonely there. He wants people to call him at the number above. He’ll be there until at least December 30th.

Three days later, Christmas Eve Day, Scott Stansfield, his son, Andrew, and I visited him together. He was looking a little better. The spasms were almost gone because they changed his muscle relaxer to one that actually worked. Well we immediately took him outside in his wheel chair and drove him all around the grounds of this hospital where we’re told local professional athletes go to rehab. For a while we sat a bench and just shot the crap. Stansfield, one of the funniest guys on the planet, IMO, did a great job keeping him amused. Apparently, he hadn’t seen the outside for more than six weeks and he just kept on saying how great the air smelled and how beautiful the day was. He told us that he plans to hit the gym hard as soon as he gets his prosthesis. He has to wait until his leg heals up completely though. His employer, Best Buy, couldn’t have been any better about everything and wants him to the have the best prosthesis he can get at their expense.

Mark had had several operations to try to remedy this problem before the final decision had to be made about the BKA. He told me that the pain I saw him in the first day was nothing compared to what he had gone through in the course of this whole thing. And, while we couldn’t get him to belly laugh, we did get him to smile and chuckle a little. He was proud to tell me that several of our Drum Corps Community visited him at the other hospitals he was in before this and that they had come from very far distances. He hasn’t been near a computer so he missed Donny Allen’s thread about him and the nice words everyone had for him. I hope when his life settles out a little more he’ll go back and read about how much loved he is by those who know him and how concerned our Drum Corps Family is -- concern felt by those who don’t even know him. It’s why we have to spend hours trying to explain the unexplainable. Call him. It will do him a world of good.

Scott Mescon

Brigadiers 93-

[Geoff]

Merged the two threads together.

[TrishDish1002]

Thanks so much Scott for the update. I sent him a card at the other hospital, but I guess I'll get that back at some point since he isn't there anymore. I'll give him a call this week!

I visited Mark Kelly at Kernan Hospital a couple of times while I was in Baltimore this past week. His contact info is:

Mark Kelly, Room 923-1

Kernan Hospital

2200 Kernan Drive

Baltimore, MD 21207

Phone in his room: 410.448.6549.

I happened to show up right when he was to have his first Physical Rehab session. He had had a BKA or Below the Knee Amputation of his left leg. It’s gone from about 4 inches below his knee cap. He’s about 60 pounds lighter and I must have walked past him a couple of times looking for a much larger guy in a wheel chair.

He was in excruciating pain from muscle spasms above and just below his knee and there were some tears. He was understandably afraid to move his leg for fear that another round of spasms would start, but this is a no-nonsense place. The physical therapist assigned him some exercises which he would have done forever if I didn’t tell him that he’d done his 30 reps. He was a little out of it from the heavy dose of muscle relaxers they gave him but the core of him was in there. He told me he was depressed and he told me it gets lonely there. He wants people to call him at the number above. He’ll be there until at least December 30th.

Three days later, Christmas Eve Day, Scott Stansfield, his son, Andrew, and I visited him together. He was looking a little better. The spasms were almost gone because they changed his muscle relaxer to one that actually worked. Well we immediately took him outside in his wheel chair and drove him all around the grounds of this hospital where we’re told local professional athletes go to rehab. For a while we sat a bench and just shot the crap. Stansfield, one of the funniest guys on the planet, IMO, did a great job keeping him amused. Apparently, he hadn’t seen the outside for more than six weeks and he just kept on saying how great the air smelled and how beautiful the day was. He told us that he plans to hit the gym hard as soon as he gets his prosthesis. He has to wait until his leg heals up completely though. His employer, Best Buy, couldn’t have been any better about everything and wants him to the have the best prosthesis he can get at their expense.

Mark had had several operations to try to remedy this problem before the final decision had to be made about the BKA. He told me that the pain I saw him in the first day was nothing compared to what he had gone through in the course of this whole thing. And, while we couldn’t get him to belly laugh, we did get him to smile and chuckle a little. He was proud to tell me that several of our Drum Corps Community visited him at the other hospitals he was in before this and that they had come from very far distances. He hasn’t been near a computer so he missed Donny Allen’s thread about him and the nice words everyone had for him. I hope when his life settles out a little more he’ll go back and read about how much loved he is by those who know him and how concerned our Drum Corps Family is -- concern felt by those who don’t even know him. It’s why we have to spend hours trying to explain the unexplainable. Call him. It will do him a world of good.

Scott Mescon

Brigadiers 93-

[chefdan]

MR.KELLY is on the TOP of my PRAYER LIST !! (and I call him"MR. Kelly",because Ive never met

him,He's my senior,and That's due for RESPECT !

From FIRST HAND EXPERIENCE, I can tell you how IMPORTANT all the "PRAYERS, and GOOD

THOUGHTS are... They can REALLY be felt,by someone who is "out of commission"...

(I know because that's what got ME out of the Hospital,when I was Not supposed to make it out...)

KEEP UP your PRAYERS,and Vigils,Folks ! IT REALLY HELPS !!!

I will ALWAYS have the time to PRAY for a BROTHER !!! "GODS SPEED" !!! D

[SkipMebden]

Chefdan:

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers for Mark. Judging by your years in in the Scouts, Mark is actually your junior, but respect is always an excellent thing!

Scott M.

MR.KELLY is on the TOP of my PRAYER LIST !! (and I call him"MR. Kelly",because Ive never met

him,He's my senior,and That's due for RESPECT !

From FIRST HAND EXPERIENCE, I can tell you how IMPORTANT all the "PRAYERS, and GOOD

THOUGHTS are... They can REALLY be felt,by someone who is "out of commission"...

(I know because that's what got ME out of the Hospital,when I was Not supposed to make it out...)

KEEP UP your PRAYERS,and Vigils,Folks ! IT REALLY HELPS !!!

I will ALWAYS have the time to PRAY for a BROTHER !!! "GODS SPEED" !!! D

[chefdan]

Chefdan:

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers for Mark. Judging by your years in in the Scouts, Mark is actually your junior, but respect is always an excellent thing!

Scott M.

SCOTT; MY Little "I-MAC" is "Crapping-Out"...I'm going to caal Mark,when my "Long Distance Plan" kicks in....I hope that it's not TOO late ! (I'm on Cennral Time).

I remember that last May,when I was in the Hospital...I was on "Another Planet" !! Some of the Drugs were GREAT !! ( just like the "OLDE DAZE) Some were H*LL !!!

(I've also put Mark on "The Prayer List" at my Church... So there's even MORE "Power" headed his way...)

[spiniki]

Thank you for the update! He's in still in my prayers. I want to send a card but I don't think it'll get there on time. Will the hospital forward it to his home?