These sorts of posts are always very sad. I don’t know Ma Ke except from Forumosa, but I’ll put in a good word for him, his family, and friends here on the forum with the powers that be before retiring this morning.
Urrrgh! Sympathies to Ma Ke his family and friends. It sounds grim indeed.
For all of you on scoots and bikes out there, be as safe as you possibly can, please.
HG
聽到這消息實在叫人痛心, 希望馬克能撐過去…
加油
Oh man. All the best MaKe. Pull through, please.
Just heard. Man that sucks. Mark is a great guy and I’ve always felt proud to be able to call him friend. This goes to remind all of us how precious life can be and to live it up best we can. I know Mark has and will continue to do so when he recovers from this.
As all others, my prayers are with him and his family.
Get well soon matey.
Holy shit!!
I met Ma Ke only once and seen him around and about. I really hate to hear this kind of news too. My heart goes out to your family.
My gf mentioned something about a well known foreigner being a bad accident but I didn’t make the connection until I saw this thread.
Only met him a couple of times but he struck me a a Big Friendly Guy.
Wishing all the best for MaKe and his family…
Sad news indeed… Peace and strength to you and your family Ma-ke…
Ma Ke,
Don’t know you IRL, and have never seen you on the tele… but, I’ve enjoyed reading your posts on this site and I hope you recover soon and completely so that you can read all the kind words written about you here and know that many people are concerned for your well being.
Good luck and pull through. I’m sure I’d enjoy meeting you when you’re up and around again.
Peace.
Ma ke has survived the night, and apparently the brain swelling has eased off slightly…Good news.
Still one day at a time, and he remains in a coma, but stable for now.
More later,
MJB
My brother and I are friends of Mark’s or as you all know him, Ma ke, from way back in High school. He even lived with us for awhile then. Mark has always been a free spirit. I think that’s what I admire most about him. It takes courage to move to another country and learn the language. I know he really loves Taiwan, and the people that live there. Mark may be thought of as an over the top Yankee, but what a lot of people here have already mentioned, he is a real good guy.
He always has a joke to share, and loves making people laugh more then anything. Even at his own expense.
I remember one time when Mark was nowhere near as big as he is today. He approached my mom and flexed his bicep saying, “Mrs A, do you think my arms are to big?” My family still gets a good laugh out of that one.
It’s tough being on the other side of the planet, and not able to be there. However, this forum has been a huge help in keeping my brother and I up to date.
It’s great to see so many people wishing him well. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.
Vesudus
Terrible news! 
Thoughts and prayers go out to him and his family. 
I can offer a bit on insight regarding traumatic brain injuries for those of you wondering what a brain injury actually entails.
Last december my younger brother suffered a traumatic brain injury. He fractured his skull in 7 places after falling off backwards from his longboard on the UVic campus. Two students found him with blood coming out of his ears and nose. He went into sugery right away to install an ICP wire into his brain to monitor his brain pressure, which was so off the charts they were considering removing part of his skull so his swollen brain would have somewhere to go. He had extensive bruising in the frontal lobes as well as the back of the head, which is where eyesight is controlled. This resulted in his left pupil being in the far left hand corner of his eyesocket and his right pupil hanging in the far right corner. He was given a 50/50 chance of making it through the first night.
My brother, like most who suffer from traumatic brain injuries, was put into an induced coma so as not to aggravate his ICP (intercranial pressure). He was on life support and a few days later his lungs collapsed and he developed sever pneumoia and almost died from that(this is very common in ICU ans esp. with thos who have tubes going in and out of them).
They left him in a coma for 2 weeks and then slowly eased him out of it. When people with TBI’s are eased out of comas or come out of them naturally it is very normal for them to get rather aggressive. My brother’s hands were in restraits because although he was heavily sedated he kept pulling out his feeding tubes and stuff.
They don’t wake up like they do in the movies. When they are out of it they are very disoriented. Think of the brain as a big filing cabinet that has suddenly been ransacked. They often say things that don’t make sense. They are often frightened, anxious and angry. When my brother first opened his eyes and saw me he flipped me the middle finger. They don’t really know what they are doing. They can’t handle a lot of stimultaion; visually or auditorally. We weren’t allowed to hang the posters his friends had made or keep all the cards in his room. It’s too much and often overwhelming. We weren’t supposed to ask him too many questions either. After a month in ICU he spent another month on the neurology ward and then in Rehab.
We went through a slew of nerological tests and cat scans etc… i don’t know the quality of care in taiwan or the quality of rehabilitation in Taiwan, but i hope for MaKe’s sake it’s as good as in Canada.
10 months later my brother is experiencing exactly what they said he would: he can’t cope with large crowds or too much noise. He is often anxious or depressed or feels nothing at all. He has trouble remembering things and can’t have too much on his plate at once. He is not the same person yet it’s almost impossible for me to pinpoint what is it exactly that is different. The dr’s say it takes 2 years…after 2 years he’ll be what he’ll be for the rest of his life.
Things creep up all the time… 6 months post injury he lost his sense of smell,at one point his right vocal cord was paralyzed. Now he has bronchitis that can’t be treated because his lungs are ultra-susceptible to infection.
YET he is functioning… as that what everyone needs to remember. The brain is a remarkable organ that isn’t fully understood.
My heart goes out to hid family and friends. Pray lots. It works.
Bushibanned,
reading your story brings back some terrible memories of 12 years ago when my sister went thru that, almost exactly.
The waiting and all the questions by those who are waiting, can be devastating. I really hope those that are close to Mark have a good support network.
I never had any idea what it is like to have someone close on life support for an extended period of time as the result of something totally unexpected. It seems like the world stops spinning in an instant, so having family, friends, work colleagues etc who are truly understanding and supportive can really make a MASSIVE difference to the anguish.
I hope this community goes someway to being part of that support network, and that those here who can help, do.
Mark,
I enjoyed meeting you at the Taoyuan Happy Hour a few months back Big Guy. There is no doubt about it, you light up the room.
Stick with the fight, we need you back.
What a bummer.
I have never met him but he has always seemed like a guy with a great sense of humor. One of the best. Hope he makes a good recovery.
can’t say anything more than has been said.
on my very first day in taiwan i saw a horrific accident involving a scooter,and altough i owned a 750 before moving to taiwan i vowed not to ride anything in such an alien surrounding.
lately i eased off and was looking thru ads to get myself a scooter,as it would help a lot,but now mith MaKe’s news i’m sure to stay clear of anything motorised.
fear doesn’t prevent danger i know,and we can’t begin to walk around wrapped up in a matress,but 2 wheeled transportation is way too dangerous here
my thoughts with MaKe and his family
thanks for any updates
Man, this sucks. Saw him a few times on tv, and he was funny as hell.
I’ll be praying for you Ma Ke. You hang in there buddy!
Don’t think I know him, but sincerely wishing him and his family a speedy happy ending.