Mark Briggs: Medical battle continues for popular Rockhampton father-of-four

A Rockhampton father-of-four has spent 42 days in hospital but there is no diagnosis for his life-threatening symptoms.

Sam Briggs says her husband Mark is a broken man.

He has spent the past 42 days in hospital, more than 20 of them in intensive care units in Rockhampton and Brisbane hospitals.

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A fit and healthy father-of-four with no underlying medical conditions, he was mysteriously struck down in late June.

Twice his family thought they would lose him, but he fought back, doggedly clinging to life.

He remains in a medical ward in the Rockhampton Hospital and despite countless tests, doctors are unable to find a cause for his life-threatening symptoms.

Just as some of those symptoms improve – the fluid around his heart and in his abdomen is decreasing and his liver is less inflamed – others appear.

As well as deep vein thrombosis in his legs, Mark is developing clots in his left arm.

His fever continues to spike, and doctors now suspect he has a bleed in his stomach.

Rockhampton's Mark Briggs when he was in the intensive care unit at Rockhampton Hospital.

He is being fed through a nasal gastric tube because he cannot swallow and is unable to eat.

Sam said the tube had been dislodged three times in the past two days, which had caused Mark considerable distress.

“His throat is very sore and every time they have to put it back in, he gags and chokes,” she said.

‘“Yesterday when they said they had to do it, he just broke down and cried.

“He just balled his eyes out because it’s just so traumatic.

“He’s a broken man right now.”

Sam said that Mark tested positive to Epstein-Barr Virus on Wednesday, something doctors believe could provide some answers.

They now want to send him for a PET scan.

Sam said she was pushing for it to be done in Townsville rather than Brisbane, given the Covid situation in the capital and because Mark’s immune system was so severely compromised.

“If he goes to Brisbane I can’t go and they’re saying he will be there for two to three weeks,” she said.

“In his emotional state, he just couldn’t do that by himself.”

Sam said every day was a challenge, and the uncertainty was unbearable.

“We will have a good morning where he’s feeling not too bad and then the rest of the day, he just goes backwards,” she said.

“We’re still managing a lot of the same stuff and then there’s new stuff popping up all the time.

“I’m mostly doing okay, but every now and then I have to cry.”

With the lack of a clear diagnosis, the family is questioning whether the AstraZeneca vaccine could be responsible, and say they’ve been told his case has been referred to the TGA (Therapeutic Goods Administration) for investigation.

Mark had the first of his vaccinations on June 15, and just over a week later started to experience symptoms, which included back and chest pain.

Discharge papers from Rockhampton list under the consultation notes: “COVID-19 Adverse Event Following Immunisation reporting completed”.