A few people who know Paul personally have shared some of his health struggles with us. It must have been sad for him to have missed the finale last night, but here are two updates on his condition:


It really makes me tear up to read this.


So please post your thoughts, prayers and words of encouragement to Paul here.

Paul,
Hang in there. We all missed you last night. I've had some experiences similiar to what you've been going through 11 years ago. Fortunately, I was quite as sick as you have been, but I can certainly empathize with you. Things will get better! Glad to hear that you're on the upside of your recovery. Feel better soon!!!!!

Get well soon, Paul!

Missed you at the finale and hope you get well soon. Good Luck with all your endevours in life.

Paul,

You are in all our thoughts and prayers....keep your chin up and listen to the doctors, they know best!!!

Missed you at the finale and hope one day soon we will get to see you again! Remember: Be strong, God doesn't give us any more than we can handle!

Much love,

Doreen

I'll be praying for your quick recovery, Paul. Hang in there and we hope to hear some good news about you soon!

Michelle

Paul, you are in my (and my family's) thoughts and prayers. You were very much missed at the finale and I am so sorry to hear you have had such a tough time. I know you'll pull through like a champ and I hope someday you come on here to post and let us all know how you're doing.

My thoughts and prayers are with Paul and his loved ones. I enjoyed watching his relationship with Kelly and the huge amount of encouragement he gave to her. I'm sure he is very proud of her. Hang in there, Paul. Love and hugs to you.

Hi Paul and family,

I just wanted to tell you, you arent alone in your fight, we are all behind you and proud of your accomplishment's so far! Get weel soon and keep us all updated!
Brandi~

wow... I sure hope he recovers as the thoughts and prayers are indeed with you.... Kinda glad that Kelly push you into this show ... guess you were meant to be on this show!!!

Please get well soon Paul. We really missed seeing you at the finale! When you feel better I hope you will post here and let us know how you are doing. Our prayers are with you.

It is amazing that your time on this show has helped you in such a significant way. You were truly inspiring to watch and your attitude was awesome. I hope that you are out of the woods and will be able to make a full recovery and continue on your path to a happy new life. We loved watching you and are all praying for you.

Paul,
We are sending our thoughts, prayers, and gentle hugs to you! Please take care of yourself!
Sincerely,
Terri, Don, and Jared Heil

Paul,

You are in my thoughts and prayers as you fight through this health issue. Tap into that warrior strength and beat this illness into submission for good.

Missed seeing you last night. Praying for your health to improve quickly.

Paul, we missed seeing you on the show and hope that your doctor gives you a clean bill of health.

You did some great work on the show and please update us as you get on your feet again.

Christine in Maryland

Paul,

Missed you on the finale but are praying for your full recovery.

EvenStill

Rah Rah Kobassa!, go Paul!

Wow. Had no idea. I sure wish NBC would have flown someone out there to do some type of taped interview or something.

Paul! We are with you!

Thanks for starting this topic.

Wishing you all the best, Paul. You seem like an awesome person.

Thanks everyone for giving your good thoughts.

Good Luck Paul!

Hey, Paul, hang in there! You've got a lot of TBL fans pulling for you.

When you're feeling better, please consider stopping by and letting us know how you're doing.

Paul first I want to say that you are in my prayers and will continue to be. My mom had problems during a surgery and ended up having a colonostomy as well. I took care of her for 6 weeks while she recouperated and so I know a little about what you must be going through. Dig deep inside yourself and find that same strength that you had while on TBL to compete and train each day and channel that same energy and determination to getting well I also wish that NBC would have done a piece that showed you and how you are doing as I missed you at the finale as well and I can only imagine how hard that must have been to watch it all on t.v. and not be there in person .Please come and update us when you are well as we all really care about how you are doing. Take care

Me and my family will be praying for you Paul!

I will forever have the image in my mind of you practically running across that beam over the water as you and Kelly kicked everyone else's butt at that challenge!

I hope you come on here and post sometime! We'd all love to hear from you!

Make it a great day!
~Christi

Take care and get better, Paul!

I'm going to get him a letter in the mail today. I don't know if Kathy posted her email address in order to send him mail or not, but I'll let her do that instead of invading her privacy.

Paul,
Get better, brotha. Everybody here loves you and cares about you and your well being.

God Bless you Paul...our thoughts and prayers are with you...Keep your chin up...it will be ok, Please feel free to ad us to your myspace if you got one and we can chat thru there.....

Best of luck Paul and get well soon. A lot of folks are thinking about you and pulling for you. You were missed last night. Godspeed.

Get well Paul.

We don't know if TBL wanted to do something on Paul but he may have wanted his privacy during his recovery.

Good news everyone I just spoke to Pauls sister and Paul has finally left the hospital!!!! He was released last night and is now resting at him mom's house. He will have a nurse that will be helping him but for right now he has taken one step to getting back on his feet again. We are going to call him tomorrow and after that I will post another update to the board. Thank you all for the emails I have gotten about wanting to send something to him. I hope I have answered everyone back with how to get to him. Thank you again for all of your warm wishes for him. I will be printing them out for him, and I will be letting him know about the thread here so when he feels like jumping on here he can do so.

Thanks for the update, Kathy! I'm sure that Paul is definitely in our prayers and hearts. Glad that he's at home!

Wishing a speedy recovery to Paul.

Dear Paul,

Just wanted to let you know that you may have been gone from the show, but you are certainly not forgotten. People have been thinking about you and praying for your recovery ever since we heard you were ill.

One of my favorite episodes was the one where you and Kelly were pitted against all the other teams. I thought it was a horrible move by the show, but now I think it was actually a good thing in the longrun. I will never forget how how encouraging you were, how focused you were, that nothing was going to stop you from rising to the challenge. One of the highlights of Season 5 is watching you walk back and forth over that balance beam, so steady and never faltering. It showed the true strength of your character.

I hope that each day finds you better and better, and that you not only walk away from this experience a healthier man, but also someone who has made many friends he doesn't even know.

and all the ninja stuff was freaking hilarious!!! absolutely classic!

Yes! I laughed so hard!

Paul, I agree with VB I loved the challenge when you walked back and forth across the balance beam. Your face was so full of determination and nothing was going to stop you. I know that same determination will pull you through your health problems and you will rise to the top! I tell ya, you are a true inspiration and, I said this already above, but you were really missed at the finale. I was so sorry to hear you were not there, and my prayers have been with you.

I just received the following update about Paul's health after his surgery and wanted to share it with you all:

Paul had to have colon surgery after coming home from "The Biggest Loser" ranch, and his doctors told him if he hadn't lost the weight on the ranch (67 lbs.), he may not have survived the surgery.

Paul would like to thank people for their thoughts and prayers.

If anyone would like to send get-well cards to Paul, please send them to:

Paul Marks
c/o Cathi Crouse
809 North Cocoa Blvd.
North Cocoa, Florida 32922

Thanks for the official word, skampy!

Yes, thanks Skampy, and thanks for the address. I am going to send him a card.

How cool would it be to live on Cocoa Blvd in Cocoa FL? The only thing better would be Chocolate Chip Cookie Blvd.

Thank you for the update and address for Paul. Paul and Kelli were my favorites this year and they both are an inspiration to me. I wish the finale would have mentioned Paul a little more.

Well then, we wouldn't be Biggest Losers now, would we?

Didn't Major Nelson and Jeannie live in Cocoa Beach?

Uh-ho...showing your age here.. ...oh what the hell.......I do believe they did live in Cocoa Beach

I am Paul's sister and I want to thank-you for all the positive words and prayers.He has had a really long painful last 2 months but is doing great now. He is still home with a pump attached to his belly,but is recovering.It was so hard for him to miss the final show , he was so down. But since then he has had such an out pouring of support it has brightened his spirits!! Paul has gotten down to 217 as of today for a total loss of 86 lbs. I know when he is able, he will be back out there working out.I believe this show was the beginning of a new life for him. It has given him time to really look at his old lifestyle and wants to make some changes.He will do great knowing how determined my brother can be. Thanks again!!Cathi

Thank you so much Cathi for the update!! I sent a card, hope he has got it!! And tell him GREAT JOB losing 86 lbs...wow...that's just wonderful!! He was a fav of mine on the program. Love his personality, so determined!!

I'm glad about the update too. Especially in that I happened to see a National Enquirer Tabloid at the grocery store today and an item at the bottom was about a contestant from TBL dieing because of the BL diet.. I knew to take it with a grain of salt.. The article must have been hidden in there.. I only tried to quickly glance through it.. I assumed it was talking about Paul.. I wouldn't buy the mag rag.. and hope that TBL or Paul is able to discern whether someone has a lawsuit for the mag.. The headline seemed to imply the show was at fault.. I'd love to see a few of those mags go under.

It was the May 5th issue that may have just come out..

Cathi, thanks so much for the update! Our thoughts and prayers are with Paul as he continues to recover.

And to this date we have no idea how much weight he lost.

It doesn't matter since whatever he lost once he left the campus was due to illness and not weight loss effort. They never gave Heather during season 3's final weight loss and she was essentially disqualified from the contest. She got pregnant shortly after leaving the campus. But she looked great.. but her weight situation was due to pregnancy. They didn't even weigh her during the finale. Circumstances change.. The same for Paul.. He obviously was super critically ill with both pneumonia and intestinal problems and surgery for the latter. It sounds like he had multiple surgeries too.. So it wouldn't be fair or accurate to calculate any before or after TBL percentages.

I did recall hearing somewhere and I don't know if it was another post or the National Enquirer piece that I skimmed while at the checkout.. that his weight had gotten down to around 218... (that number sticks in my head for some reason).. But it would be because of the illness moreso than continued effort. (Through no fault of Paul's.) I just hope he can get back to the healthy habits once he is well enough to exercise and eat properly to continue his journey he started when he came to TBL. I recall he was at a huge risk for heart problems because of genetics in his family.

Any new updates?

Hang in there Paul!

It doesn't matter to you but others might be interested to find out. It was his efforts that kept Kelly from getting the boot.

He lost 70 lbs. while on the show.. When he left he was 233... (Info is according to wiki site.. he left week 8)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Biggest_Loser_(Season_5)

Since he was so sick, I'm sure he lost more but not with conventional (albeit extreme) dieting and exercising which is what the show tries to promote. That is why in the grand scheme of things an official final tally isn't available for him. I don't think anyone is trying to discredit the huge accomplishment of losing a good deal of weight while on the show. He did a great job.. Kelly and Paul worked well as a team. Paul had his ups and downs throughout the time there. He was insistant about the 'one' against 'all' challenge and did a great job.. When he finally let Kelly do a leg of the race, she did a good job.
I don't necessarily think he saved Kelly.. She petitioned at one point if they had to choose one of them for elimination to choose her because Paul needed to stay and lose weight for his health issues. That was during an earlier elimination though and not the final one where he ultimately got sent home. I think they sent Jenn home instead of Kelly or Paul that particular week... (I think it was the week that Paul gained weight)

IMHO, It still wouldn't be fair to count lost weight from a severe and extended illness toward a final tally for the season.