Mark Ashley

On May 29th, 2010, I received a call from my brother telling me my Dad was sick, he had been taken to the ER due to confusion. A week before this he had had a stomach virus. A few days later he had a fever of 104. He had taken ibuprofen and was toughing it out, as usual for my Dad.

When he felt a bit better he drove six hours back to Philadelphia where he was working. The last I spoke to him he just didn’t sound well, but I would have never guessed what was happening. His coworkers talked him into driving back home, and somehow he made it. When he got back in town his color was horrible and he was weak and short of breath. The next day was the 29th of May.

My sister and I arrived the following morning to the ICU of a small hospital. My Dad was confused; I could not speak to him. He was found to have a raging urinary tract infection (Sepsis and Urinary Tract Infections) that had passed to his blood, causing septicemia. Later we found that it was an E Coli infection.

From here on his organs began shutting down, he was ventilated and sedated. We had him flown to UPMC medical center, where he was treated by highly skilled doctors and nurses, but to no avail. His blood pressure was too low, his liver and kidneys were failing. After four days there, we knew we had no hope. With his family at his side, he passed on. He and I were never able to have a last conversation, I was never able to tell him how much I loved him and would miss him and know that he heard it. But I believe in my heart that he knew.

My Dad was a great musician; he was a drummer in a band in Latrobe, PA, called Jerry B and the Bonetones. He had played live music for almost 40 years. He left behind a loving fiance, his elderly parents, three sisters, a son and two daughters, and two young granddaughters.

It breaks my heart that my girls will never really know my Dad; how funny, spontaneous and talented he was. He had such a great life to live. He was only 57 years old. I hope that through websites like this one, that people will be able to recognize the symptoms of sepsis before they become too sick for successful medical intervention. Thank you for giving us a place to tell his story.

My father’s name was Mark Ashley

Source: by Brooke Ashley Burk (Mark's daughter)