My Training Journey Included the Henry Mayo ED

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In early June of this year, Mark Malig, a lab technician and Santa Clarita native, was training at a local gym for the Grit OCR race when he fell off of the monkey bars and suffered a penetrating injury to the lower extremity. Mark was taken by paramedics to the Trauma Unit at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital’s Emergency Department. Emergency Rooms can be a very stressful, tense, and pressure-filled environments. Mark had never been in an ED, so he was a little anxious about what would happen to him throughout the process. The uncertainty soon subsided when Cathy Miller, Clinical RN, introduced herself to him.

“Cathy was the first person I met and she along with the entire staff were so good to me. They made me feel everything was going to be okay,” said Mark. Initially, Mark thought that his injury was somewhat minor. However, after a series of imaging tests, he learned that he would need to have surgery later that evening. Mark said, “Cathy was there by my side providing updates and answering the many questions about my situation and the surgery.” 

Dr. Paul Tran performed the nearly five hour exploratory shrapnel and suture of wound surgery, which was a success. Mark was released at 2:00 p.m. the next day, just in time to spend Father’s Day with his dad. “My recovery process has been fine. My mom is a wound care nurse so she was instrumental in helping me avoid getting my wound infected. Three weeks ago I went back to the gym.” Mark shared that even though he wasn’t able to participate in the actual race, he was able to walk the Grit OCR which was early inspiration for next year’s event!

Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital is filled with dedicated and committed healthcare professionals such as Cathy. They have the ability to provide timely compassionate care, while understanding the unique nature of each patient’s case. Cathy’s actions ensured that Mark’s humanity was not obscured in a jungle of test results and paperwork as she provided the highest quality in patient-centered care. 

Mark recently made a gift in honor of Cathy to express his sincere gratitude. “This experience changed my life and makes me appreciate how lucky we are to have this great community hospital. I’m so grateful for everything the team at Henry Mayo did for me. We are so blessed to have such an amazing community hospital and healthcare staff in the Santa Clarita Valley,” said Mark.

Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital is grateful for Mark, and we thank him for his support and for sharing the story of his wonderful patient experience. It’s our goal to provide excellence in healthcare to all residents of the Santa Clarita Valley and surrounding communities.

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