While facing the grim prospect of losing a leg last week, veteran V.I. broadcaster Lee Carle had good news Wednesday morning.
After a five-and-a-half-hour operation Tuesday at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City, doctors were able to save his leg.
Carle was admitted to Schneider Regional Medical Center earlier this month, where, after an operation to put a stent in his left leg, he was told he likely would lose that leg.
After a stay at SRMC, arrangements were made by his doctors on St. Thomas to move him to the New York hospital last Friday.
In good spirits Wednesday morning, Carle said, "Not losing the leg is fantastic."
However, he isn’t out of the woods quite yet. "The doctor was able to reenergize a portion of the leg. I will, however, lose my big toe and two other digits."
The veteran St. Thomas newsman has high praise for his doctor, vascular surgeon James F. McKinsey, an expert in the field of treating vascular disease.
"I knew he worked as hard as he could. He keeps me informed about everything," Carle said of McKinsey.
Carle described the laser operating room at the N.Y. hospital as "incredible, dramatic, like something out of Star Trek."
And the hospital, he says is impressive, as well. "I have a stunning view of the George Washington bridge, and the ice sparkling on the river,” adding, “You can tell people that."
Carle has been broadcasting over WSTA radio for 55 years. There’s little that has escaped his notice. His voice is an integral part of the local news community.
Carle still faces the next operation, and after that, he will likely recuperate at a rehabilitation center on Long Island, where his daughter, Athena Mercado, lives.
"We found a rehab just a few blocks from her house," Carle said.
WSTA’s Addie Ottley will have further news on Carle’s progress as it becomes available.
