A man remains in a coma in Bali. His family is working to get him home to Cumming.
Mike Moczarski has always been his little brother’s protector.
They were 10 years apart but were as close as twins. Mark looked up to Mike for everything, even after blossoming into a 34-year-old IT professional and adventurous free spirit who made the 10,000-mile journey to Bali in June for a dream vacation. They talked nearly every day.
“He’s kind of like my third child, you know, helping him out all the time and taking care of him,” Mike Moczarski told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Monday. “He’s my little brother, but mostly my best friend.”
Mike is now forced to watch Mark’s still body through a cellphone screen from his Cumming home after the younger brother was seriously injured Sept. 27 in a moped crash in the Indonesian province. Mark remains in a medically induced coma.
During one recent FaceTime call, Mike quietly asked Mark to open his eyes. The older brother typically doesn’t show emotion, but the hopeful plea led to what his family described as “divine intervention.”
“He said, ‘Come on, buddy, open your eyes.’ And of course, all of a sudden, he had a stream of tears come down his face. He’s unconscious, but tears, I mean, he wasn’t crying before, but he cried when he heard his voice,” Mike’s wife, Candace, told the AJC.
“It’s just heartbreaking to be in a situation like this to not be able to do anything,” Mike added.
Candace said the trip, which Mark planned for several years, started great, with him routinely calling them while surrounded by monkeys or wounded dogs he was taking care of.
Mark is a kid at heart, with a love for the unknown, his family said. Mike said he would tell Mark not to touch the dogs for fear of rabies, but that didn’t stop him. Other times, Mark would send videos from above the clouds at the end of long hikes. He was also attracted to the Bali sunrise and would wake up early most mornings to catch a glimpse of the vibrant colors that signified a new day of possibilities. He felt at peace.
Mike and Candace peppered him with questions about where he was staying and if he felt safe. She even convinced Mark to let them track his iPhone, which she said ultimately helped save his life.
Candace said Mike was traveling about 20 mph on a flat paved road in an urban area when he fell off the moped and hit the ground on his right side. His helmet came off as the bike slid, and he eventually struck his head on the nearby curb, she added.
More than 1,500 people died from non-natural causes in foreign countries between 2019 and 2021, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that was published online in March. Of those, just over 400, or about 27%, died in motor vehicle crashes.
Candace, who works at Emory Healthcare, was in bed when Mark’s traveling friend, who was also in Bali, called to let her know he was in a “tragic moped accident” and needed “lifesaving surgery immediately,” she said. The hospital had contacted him first, he told her.
“So instantly, I woke up screaming, yelling for my husband. I almost fell down the stairs,” Candace said.
They were able to track the phone to the Bali hospital, where Mark was taken while awaiting surgery after suffering a subdural hematoma, eight broken ribs and a lung full of blood. His orbital bone was also sticking out of his face, Mike said.
But the hospital wouldn’t take him to surgery without consent or some form of payment. They said he was left there, bleeding, for another 12 hours. Hospital officials told them he had a 30% chance of surviving.
“I’ve worked here in the health care system for 17 years, and it was not used to what we do here in our country,” Candace said. “I was like, are you kidding?”
Mark survived a five-hour surgery but remains in a coma and on a ventilator as the broken ribs are preventing it from being removed, his family said. Through a GoFundMe page, they are raising money to help get him flown back to the U.S., preferably to Grady Memorial Hospital. The problem, the couple said, is that it will cost roughly $300,000.
“That’s just an unreachable amount for our family right now,” Mike added.
Candace said they were grateful for the donations to their page, which had raised nearly $50,000 as of Monday afternoon.
She joked that if Mark finally comes home, she would hug him so hard she would break another rib. Right now, Mark’s father remains by his side in Bali.
In recent years, Mark helped take care of his mother at their home in Forsyth County, where he would dress up as Batman for Halloween and as Santa each Christmas Eve during family gatherings. He didn’t have any children, so he lived for Mike and Candace’s kids and frequently chatted with their 8-year-old son Maksym, she said. Mark was supposed to be home Oct. 26 to surprise Maksym for his birthday two days later.
“So my son doesn’t know that and still doesn’t know that,” Candace said.
For his whole life, Mike and his family have always been there looking out for Mark, but they remain powerless until he can come home.
“I would do anything to get him back here,” Mike said. “He’ll be in much better hands if we can get him back.”
HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF WHILE TRAVELING ABROAD
Here’s what you can do to protect yourself when you’re out of the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
- Travelers should purchase special health and medical evacuation insurance if going to countries where good medical care might not be available.
- You should travel with another person, take a travel health kit and learn basic first aid and CPR.
- When on the roads, you should remain alert and avoid distractions, try to avoid overcrowded buses and refrain from drinking alcohol or drugs.
- People are also discouraged from using motorcycles or motorbikes. If so, you should use a helmet that meets U.S. safety standards.
