Posted: 6/18/03

Tipler looking to give back to Regions burn unit

Joe Drennan
Sports Editor

It was senior ditch day, and Mark Tipler did what any other senior in high school would do, enjoy his day off from school.

Back in 1981 when Tipler was a senior he took advantage of senior ditch day to go home and work in the garage with his younger brother. When Tiplerís younger brother opened the door to the familyís house to get some sodas, smoke started billowing out.

When the two left for school that morning, their sister was in the house so they went in to get her. The two later found out their sister was out shopping with a friend. Both Tipler and his younger brother escaped unharmed, but now had a burnt out house.

After the house fire, Tipler decided he would concentrate on getting in shape for an upcoming football camp that he was going to attend. In the mean time, his younger brother was attempting to remove the melted carpet padding and glue from the basement floor so repairs could begin on the house.

Tipler and his brother were working on the basement floor, but Tipler wanted to workout in the morning so he told his brother to take the car and he would job over to the house when he was done with his workout

Before Tipler got to the house, his brother went to the hardware store to purchase some more blades he was using to scrape up the padding and glue. He asked the store worker if there was anything that could help speed the process up because it was taking so long. The store worker gave him some mineral spirits and told him that should do the job.

ìThe spirits worked great,î Tipler said, ìso my brother went back to get eight more gallons of the stuff.î

As Tipler and his brother worked in the basement, there was the noticeable smell of fumes. Tipler said his brother was conscious of this and had all doors and windows open along with a fan turned on to circulate the air.

ìAs my brother was scraping the floor with a blade, he hit a crack in the cement floor and a spark hit the carpet padding,î Tipler said.

With the basement floor covered in flammable mineral spirits, a spark ignited the carpet padding, then the fumes burst into flames.

Tiplerís brother was right by a door so he was able to exit the house safely. Tipler on the other hand was stuck in a corner.

ìI had two options, run through the fire or back into a bedroom and climb through a window,î Tipler said.

Tipler backed into the bedroom and went to climb out the basement window, but there was no furniture in the bedroom for him to stand on to reach the window.

ìI grabbed the window sill and pulled myself up, but I couldnít open the window with just one hand,î Tipler said. ìI was getting cooked in there, but I was never on fire.î

Tipler eventually broke the window with his fist, but in the event he also tore eight tendons in his wrist. His brother then came to his aid and kicked the remaining parts of the window out and tried pulling him out.

ìAs he tried pulling me out, the skin fell off my arm,î Tipler said.

By the time Tiplerís brother tried pulling him out a second time, the contractor who was to rehab the house after the first fire arrived and helped pull Tipler to safety.

ìWhen I got out there was a fireman spraying water on me from a garden hose,î Tipler said. ìI was in shock so I wasnít feeling any pain, but then when the water got to my ear it hit an exposed nerve and the pain hit me.î

Engulfed in pain, Tipler stared running around the front yard until a neighbor convinced him that he needed to lay down.

ìWhen I finally laid down, I was laying in the back of an ambulance,î Tipler said.

Recovery

ìI remember the nurses, they were so nice. My hair had melted and they had to shave it and they kept asking if it was ok that they did that,î Tipler said. ìThen I remember turning my head so they could shave the side of it and seeing a priest giving me my last rights. Then I remember waking up a few weeks later because they put me in a drug induced coma.î

During the drug induced coma, doctors at Regions Hospitalís burn unit performed skin graft operations to replace the skin that was burned on 80 percent of Tiplerís body.

As Tiplerís recovery progressed, it became evident that he did not have any use of his thumb and his nerves in his wrist had to be repaired.

ìIt was obvious that I couldnít play football so I wanted to coach it and to coach I would need to be able to grip a football,î Tipler said.

To restore movement in his thumb, doctors took tendons from Tiplerís index finger and transplanted them into his thumb.

ìIt was kind of funny, my brain would tell the tendons they were still in my finger and when I would point, my thumb would move instead,î Tipler said. ìIf not for that surgery, I would not be able to fish.î

After leaving the hospital, Tipler said he and his buddies would do what kids their age would do, go out to the dance clubs and dance.

ìI would go out to the bars in my pressure suit. I didnít care and my buddies included me in whatever they did,î Tipler said.

Moving On

Tipler followed his brother and moved to Texas for a while, but he ìhad to move back to Minnesota.î

After moving back to Minnesota, Tipler teamed up with an old high school friend who was also a fisherman. The two would spend four to five days a week on the water, driving around to find lakes they had not fished before.

ìI became confident that I could catch a fish on any lake,î Tipler said as he talked of the many lakes they had fished.

Tipler later met his wife Suzanne. After the birth of their first child, he decided to go back to school. Tipler attended Dunwoody Institute where he received a degree in civil technology and land surveying.

While at Dunwoody, Tipler started Tips Guide Service where he would take people fishing to earn extra money for his newly started family.

ìI got a joy putting people on fish and catching them, but I still had a competitive edge,î Tipler said.

After receiving his degree, Tipler decided he would try his hand at fishing competitively as a professional in tournaments.

ìI saw other guys doing tournaments to benefit groups and I thought I should do something to benefit Regions Hospital and give back for what they did for me,î Tipler said. ìI want to get kids that have been touched by fire involved and show them not to give up their dreams, but to go for it.î

Tipler will be holding his First Annual Mark Tipler Celebrity Bass Tournament Wednesday, July 9, at Lakeside Park on Forest Lake. The tournament will run from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., and later in the day professional anglers and celebrities will take young people who have been touched by a burn and their siblings out for a tournament of their own.

ìIt is my hope that we can raise enough funds for sponsoring families for a fishing burn camp,î Tipler said. ìBut Regions can do whatever they feel is the best use for the funds raised.î

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