Barrington 'Barry G' Gordon. - Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer

Krista Henry, Staff Reporter

Radio pioneer Barrington 'Barry G' Gordon has recently suffered a severe stroke and is at present hospitalised in Florida.

In a telephone interview with The Gleaner, a very shaky-sounding Barry G told how happy he was to be alive. "I was on a flight from Montego Bay to Florida; when I was airborne I wanted to use the bathroom and when I got up I felt like I was stumbling - my wife had to assist me. Since then it has been downhill, I had to be wheelchaired off the plane and taken straight to the hospital," he said.

According to Barry G, the incident occurred within the last two weeks and he has since been undergoing many different treatments, including food therapy and constant exercise.

He elaborated that the doctors have been doing every test possible and still have not pinpointed where in his body the stroke originated.

Doing well

Since the stroke the ex-talk host has not been able to walk upright, has been stuttering and has constant hiccups. However, despite the effects, Barry G says the doctors are surprised that he has been doing so well.

"The doctors are shocked at my survival. Most persons who have had this condition don't usually survive. The doctor has told me that the nature of the stroke could have caused mass damage to my brain or it could have put me in a coma, thankfully it has not," he said.

Back to full health

An optimistic Barry G says as long as he sticks to his diet, medication and exercise he should hopefully be back to full health. His major concern, he says, is his speech impediment. He joked that he had tried all the Jamaican 'grandmother therapies' to stop his hiccup, but to no avail.

"At age 50, I've never been sick, it's a culture shock to me and stress on my family. My wife has had to leave work to take care of me. Spiritually, I'm amazed when the doctors talk about how lucky I've been," he said.

Barry G was in the process of planning a major comeback to the airwaves, but this may be delayed due to his stroke. "I'm most concerned about my speech, the length of time it has been holding me off, I'm not as fluent as I should be."

Yet, Barry G is still planning his comeback and says he has learnt from the experience. When he returns to Jamaica, he plans to focus on the need for a more effective health care system.