Mason Martin

During Mason Martin’s first week at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, the injured Karns City Area Jr./Sr. High School quarterback has taken a difficult, but positive step toward recovery, according to his father, Denny Martin.

Mason has had episodes of shaking, which could indicate the teen’s brain is starting to produce more dopamine or moving into the next stage of recovery, Martin said in a Friday, Jan. 12, update to Facebook.

“There are two theories and both are positive,” Martin said.

His post said first theory is that Mason is becoming stressed or overloaded as his brain is creating more dopamine on it’s own.

“They have decreased the stimulants slightly, but this doesn’t seem to be having much of an effect,” Martin said.

The second theory is that Mason is moving into the “agitation stage” of recovery, where he becomes aware of his surroundings. Martin indicated that the heightened awareness can cause confusion and fear.

“His last week at Mercy, Mason was becoming so aware of his surroundings it was difficult to keep him on task,” Martin said. “Prior to that, it was like his world existed three feet in front of him, and then all of a sudden, it seemed to blow up and expand, so this theory makes the most sense to me.”

It was last Friday, Jan. 5, that Mason exhibited the seizure-like symptoms, including violent shaking, elevated heart rate and sweating, according to his father. The episodes would last from 30 seconds to an hour, he said.

“The staff at Children’s ordered every test they could think of to rule out any medical issues or concerns. Everything checked out and came back negative,” he said.

The medical staff now is tasked with medicating Mason to keep him calm, but not so much that it impedes his therapy sessions, according to the post.

To help with these episodes, Martin said, they’ve kept Mason’s environment quiet with dim lighting, as noises or too many people seem to trigger the episodes.

“This has been a very difficult week,” Martin said. “As a parent there isn’t much you can do during these episodes. Sometimes I can talk him out of it, but sometimes it just makes it worse. When he gets to a certain point, the only thing I can do is sit back and watch.”

Martin said Mason continues to make strides toward recovery, despite the odds.

“I feel like once he moves out of this stage he’ll take off again,” he wrote. “So I’m asking for prayers for Mason to move out of this stage and for calming peace while he’s still in it. Thanks for all the continued support.”