Meghan Markle has contacted her father, Thomas Markle, after his left leg was amputated in an emergency surgery. "I can confirm she has reached out to her father," a spokesperson for the Duchess of Sussex, 44, told Us Weekly on Friday, December 5. Thomas' son, Thomas Markle Jr., confirmed to The Daily Mail on Friday that his 81-year-old father went under the knife in the Philippines on Wednesday, December 3, after a blood clot cut off circulation to his left leg. The limb turned black and needed to be amputated below the knee. "My dad is being very brave. 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," Thomas Jr., 59, told the outlet. "There was no option. I was told the leg had to be removed and it was a case of life or death." Meghan Markle's Dad Denies He's 'Trapped' After Philippines Earthquake Thomas Jr. added that his father is expected to undergo another surgery to remove a blood clot in his left thigh. He noted that doctors are "extremely concerned" for the elder Thomas' health. "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," he continued. "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." Leigh Vogel/Getty Images; The Sun / MEGA The Daily Mail reported on Tuesday, December 2, that Thomas was hospitalized and in intensive care due to an undisclosed illness. "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," Thomas Jr. told the outlet on Wednesday. "They raced us by ambulance, with the sirens going, to a much bigger hospital in the center of the city." He then asked for "everyone around the world to keep him in their thoughts." Thorpe/MEGA Thomas' daughter Samantha, 61, told the publication that her father is a "strong man" who has "been through so much." "I am praying that he is strong enough to survive this," she said. "My father has been through two heart attacks, a stroke and an earthquake. I hope he can pull through this." Thomas Jr. and Samantha are Thomas' children from his first marriage. He shares Meghan with ex-wife Doria Ragland. Meghan Markle's Family Guide: Meet the Duchess' Parents and Siblings Meghan and Thomas have been estranged since her wedding to Prince Harry in 2018. At the time, he was accused of staging paparazzi photos ahead of the nuptials. "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 recalled in an episode of Netflix's 2022 docuseries Harry & Meghan. "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 continued, "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.'"