Mason Martin

Karns City Area Junior/Senior High School quarterback Mason Martin has endured a rough week at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in Pittsburgh dealing with complications from cranial flap surgery he underwent last month.

Denny Martin, Mason’s father, shared the update on Mason’s medical condition on his Facebook page.

According to Denny, Mason pulled through a case of meningitis, for which he tested positive earlier this month. But days later, Mason fell ill again.

“Thursday morning Mason became very sick,” Denny wrote. “By Thursday afternoon his cranial fluid cultures grew and tested positive for a different infection.”

Mason became unconscious as a result of injuries he sustained while playing for the Karns City Gremlins during their game against Redbank Valley on Sept. 1. He suffered from a brain bleed and collapsed lung.

Mason underwent surgery to repair his cranial flap on Oct. 20, and then he was moved from UPMC Presbyterian to Mercy Hospital for rehabilitation. While he initially showed signs of positive progress, eventually complications from the surgery interrupted his recovery.

On Nov. 8, Denny announced on social media Mason had tested positive for meningitis and was headed back to UPMC Presbyterian. There, he would have his brain shunt removed and replaced.

One of the doctors on the neurosurgical team at UPMC, Dr. Tara Nail, was supposed to put the new shunt in on Wednesday before doctors noticed an increase in Mason’s white blood cell count — a telltale sign of infection.

According to Denny, doctors at UPMC are using antibiotics aggressively to ensure the infection does not reach Mason’s cranial flap, which would lead to additional surgeries.

“He had an MRI Friday morning to see if the fluid may have infected his cranial flap. Luckily it hasn’t yet because that would require two more big surgeries and a lengthy setback,” Denny wrote. “For now, we’re back to waiting and praying that the antibiotics kill off the bacteria before it reaches that part of his skull.”