Wheeling native Mark Kirksey said getting shot was bad enough. But finding out two days later that he had stage three cancer was just about the worst news he could have received.
Kirksey, a 1996 graduate of Wheeling Central Catholic High School and the son of Patty and Don Kirksey of St. Clairsville, moved to the Columbus area after high school. He worked several jobs before landing a position with a company that manufactured plastic containers. Then he moved on to begin a career as a plumber. He made friends, married and enjoyed the things that most 20-somethings did.
Then last October, Kirksey was bow hunting for deer near Galliopolis, Ohio, with a couple of friends when it happened. A man hunting turkeys shot Kirksey with a 12-gauge shotgun. The spray of pellets struck all along the right side of his body, including his face, hands and side.
“I was a bloody mess, but I managed to walk out of the woods to get help,” Kirksey, now 30, recalled. “My friends were spread out, kind of away from me, so I had to get out of there on my own.”
Kirksey was transported by ambulance to Jackson County Medical Center. A short time later, he was flown by medical helicopter to the Ohio State Medical Center at Columbus.
Kirksey’s mother, Patty, said when she walked into the trauma bay and saw her son, all she could remember was how he looked.
“He was just filled with holes from the pellets,” she recalled. “His injuries were not life-threatening, but he looked bad. It was a mother’s worst nightmare.”
Mark Kirksey underwent a series of tests to determine if the shooting had caused any damage to his internal organs. That’s when doctors discovered a large mass in his abdomen. They waited two days after the shooting to deliver the bad news.
“They wanted us to get through the trauma of the shooting before they told us about the mass,” Patty said.
The growth was deep inside his abdomen and required a needle biopsy through his back.
“It was located between two major blood vessels,” Kirksey said. “After a week, I was sent home. Then the doctor called to have me come into the office. I told him to just tell me over the phone, and he did. It was cancer.”
Patty said chemotherapy began two days later.
Additional scans and tests indicated there were more spots on his lungs and in other parts of his body. Later doctors learned the cancer had not spread and that the spots were probably caused by the shooting. However, they had stopped the chemo during the testing, and that did not help the treatment of the original cancerous mass.
“It was a real setback,” Patty said.
Tests showed Kirksey had testicular cancer that had formed the mass in his abdomen.
“The good thing is that Mark was lucky enough to have Dr. Lawrence Einhorn as his doctor,” Patty said. “He’s the doctor who treated Lance Armstrong for his cancer.”
In fact, the protocol for treating testicular cancer at the Ohio State facility was developed by Einhorn.
Kirksey underwent surgery on his abdomen followed by intensive rounds of chemo. The mass was removed. While he has been given a clean bill of health, Kirksey continues to undergo tests on a regular basis.
“There are so many reasons I am alive today,” Kirksey said. “If I hadn’t got shot, they would not have found the cancer when they did. Then Dr. Einhorn was there to treat me.
“But most of all, people prayed for me. People not just from Corpus Christi or in Columbus, but from all kinds of churches and religions said they were praying for me. Those prayers meant more to me than anything.”
While Kirksey said the prayers were his reward, his bills began to pile up for his house and car.
“I had some medical insurance, but I was racking up nearly a million dollars in medical care. And while I have medical insurance that I pay out of my own pocket, I didn’t have any income to pay my household bills,” he said.
His wife of four years, Valerie, is working toward a master’s degree and works part time. Because of the outside expenses, Kirksey’s large, extended family of siblings, aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins and friends pulled together to keep his head above the financial water.
“I have been so blessed to have these people in my life. My Aunt Penny (Weatherson) set up a fund and sent out donation envelopes to family and close friends. Every envelope came back with something in it. It’s so overwhelming to me that they would help me like this,” an emotional Kirksey said.
He said his maternal aunt, Peggy Contraguerro, offered her background in nursing to the family. She went to doctors’ appointments with them and knew the right questions to ask. Patty said it was a gift of sisterly love.
Kirksey said his two brothers, two sisters, his grandmother Nancy Weatherson, his uncle Mike Contraguerro and the entire family have come together to help him.
“If you wrapped it all up in a ball, the things people have been doing for me are great, but it would never be as much as what my parents did for me,” he said. “I thank them all.”
Kirksey has not been cleared by doctors to return to work, as he is still healing. He must go once a month for blood work and X-rays.
However, he said he wants to give back through some volunteer work, perhaps with the children’s hospital or cancer society when he is able. He also is rethinking his second chance on life.
“You know, I don’t think it’s all sunk in yet,” he said. “I got shot. I got cancer. And now I have to decide what my purpose is here.”
Wheeling Central Principal Joseph “Doc” Viglietta said, “It’s the first time I can recall that being shot saved a life. It is an incredible story, and I’m so glad that he is alive. He and his family are good, wholesome people.”
As for the hunter who shot Kirksey, the case is in the hands of prosecutors. Kirksey said charges may be filed against the gunman, who has never contacted him to see how he is doing. Kirksey said the man has not offered to help pay any of his expenses while he has been off work.
Anyone wishing to contribute to Kirksey’s fund can send contributions to the Mark Kirksey Cancer Relief Fund, 329 Arborland Road, Wheeling, WV 26003. The donations are being handled by his Aunt Penny and a local bank.
