Every morning a familiar, strong voice gets the day started for many North Texans who tune in to WBAP radio. But last Tuesday, Steve Lamb's speech started to fail.
"There were a few words that weren't coming easily," Lamb said. "It never crossed my mind that I could have been suffering stroke."
Lamb drove home and told his wife, NBC 5 anchor Deborah Ferguson, who told him to see a doctor.
But Lamb insisted that he felt, "OK."
"I am probably your typical guy. There is a little stubbornness there. We think of ourselves as tough guys, 'Oh it's a headache, it'll be fine,'" Lamb said.
But after Ferguson went to sleep, Lamb called friends who took him to the ER.
Tests were run and an MRI told the tale.
"There was relief, there was fear, there was sadness and you're right, there was anger because, 'Oh my gosh, I told you to go to the hospital," Ferguson said.
"Here I am, seeing myself healthy, living a very healthy life and never knowing I was living with a hole in my heart which may or may not have led to this stroke," Lamb said.
When asked if she had asked doctors about the best and worst case scenario going forward, Ferguson said, "No, because there is no worst case scenario, there isn't. I have my husband. He looks fine, he sounds like I know he sounds and his voice is quite attractive," Ferguson said.
Steve is back on the air, but there are still some unknowns and many tests ahead. But as Steve puts it, he's "darn lucky" and his wife is grateful.
"The feeling that has emerged is gratitude. Gratitude that he's OK. Gratitude that we have good friends who got him to the ER," Deborah said. "You have that reflection time and you go, 'I feel like I dodged something here, now let's get ahead of it and let's fix it and get on a path to living a long, healthy life," Lamb said.
