Additional Coverage:
- Meghan Markle ‘Has Reached Out’ to Dad Thomas Markle After His Emergency Leg Amputation (usmagazine.com)
Meghan Markle Reaches Out to Father After Emergency Amputation
Meghan Markle has reportedly contacted her estranged father, Thomas Markle, following an emergency surgery that resulted in the amputation of his left leg. A spokesperson for the Duchess of Sussex, 44, confirmed on Friday, December 5, that she had “reached out to her father.”
Thomas Markle Jr., 59, shared details of his 81-year-old father’s urgent medical situation. Mr.
Markle Sr. underwent surgery in the Philippines on Wednesday, December 3, after a severe blood clot led to a complete loss of circulation in his left leg. The limb had turned black, necessitating a below-the-knee amputation.
“My dad is being very brave,” Thomas Jr. stated. “His foot turned blue and then black.
It happened very quickly. I took him to a local hospital and they did some scans and an ultrasound and said the leg had to be amputated.
There was no option. I was told the leg had to be removed and it was a case of life or death.”
Doctors are “extremely concerned” for Mr. Markle Sr.’s health, as he is expected to undergo a second surgery to remove another blood clot in his left thigh.
Thomas Jr. added, “One of his doctors said the next two or three days are critical. His left leg has been removed below the knee.
They were worried about infection setting in – sepsis or gangrene. The flesh was black and dying.
There was no option given. It was either, ‘We have to operate now and remove the leg, or he may die.’
It was a life-threatening situation.”
The news of Mr. Markle Sr.’s hospitalization first emerged on Tuesday, December 2, when he was reported to be in intensive care for an undisclosed illness.
Thomas Jr. recounted the urgent transfer to a larger hospital, stating, “I took dad to a hospital close to our home and they did various scans and the doctors said his life was in imminent danger. They raced us by ambulance, with the sirens going, to a much bigger hospital in the center of the city.”
He requested prayers and thoughts for his father’s recovery.
Samantha Markle, 61, another of Thomas Markle Sr.’s children from his first marriage, emphasized her father’s resilience. “My father has been through two heart attacks, a stroke and an earthquake.
I hope he can pull through this,” she said, adding, “I am praying that he is strong enough to survive this.” Thomas Markle Sr. shares Meghan with his ex-wife, Doria Ragland.
Meghan and her father have been estranged since her 2018 wedding to Prince Harry, following accusations that he staged paparazzi photos before the nuptials. In the 2022 Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan, the Duchess recalled a phone call with her father regarding the alleged staged photos.
“H and I called my dad. I said, ‘They’re saying you’re taking money from the tabloids to stage photos.
Is this true?’ He says, ‘No.’”
Meghan continued, “And on that call, I’d said to him, ‘Look. If they can’t stop this story, then it’s going to come out tomorrow, so why don’t we send someone right now to your house to get you out of there now because if that’s the case, your house will be swarmed by media.
We’ll get you out.’” She concluded, “He said, ‘No.
I have things I need to do.’ And it felt really cagey.
I was like, ‘It doesn’t make sense.’ And when we hung up, I looked at H.
I was like, ‘I don’t know why, but I don’t believe him.’”