Meghan Markle’s estranged father, Thomas Markle, is recovering in the hospital after undergoing a three-hour emergency surgery that resulted in the amputation of his left leg below the knee.
According to The Daily Mail, which spoke with members of the family and doctors in the Philippines, the 81-year-old faced a life-or-death situation after a blood clot cut off circulation.
His son, Thomas Markle Jr., confirmed the frightening ordeal and said things escalated fast. “My dad is being very brave. His foot turned blue and then black. It happened very quickly,” he told the outlet. After rushing him to a local hospital, scans revealed the leg couldn’t be saved. “There was no option,” he explained. “It was either ‘we have to operate now and remove the leg or he may die.’ It was a life-threatening situation.”
Once transferred by ambulance to a larger hospital in Cebu, Thomas Sr. was taken straight into surgery, where doctors worked for three hours to amputate the limb. He is expected to undergo an additional operation to remove a blood clot in his left thigh, and while he is currently stable, the next few days remain critical.
“One of his doctors said the next two or three days are critical,” Thomas Jr. reiterated, adding that doctors were concerned about complications like sepsis or infection. One treating physician told The Daily Mail, “The wound is healing but the next 24 to 72 hours are critical. We need to make sure the wound heals and does not become infected. At the moment, he is in stable condition and doing well. But, at his age, that could change quickly.”
The Markle family says the health scare follows a difficult few years for Thomas Sr., who has suffered multiple medical emergencies — including two heart attacks, a stroke, and even an earthquake. His daughter Samantha said, “He is a strong man, but he has been through so much. I am praying that he is strong enough to survive this.”
Thomas Sr.’s ongoing health issues previously forced him to miss Meghan’s 2018 royal wedding to Prince Harry after he underwent heart surgery. He was also hospitalized in 2022 after suffering a stroke while living in Tijuana. At the time, he told the outlet, “I feel hugely grateful and know how lucky I am to be alive.”
Thomas shares Meghan with ex-wife Doria Ragland, and is also father to Samantha and Thomas Jr. from his first marriage.
