East Texas favorite weatherman, Mark Scirto, has been off the air for about a month now as he recovers from a stroke he suffered in Dallas in May. Through this time, KLTV has kept us up to date on his progress and has given us a way to send Mark our personal prayer and/or "Get Well" wish via email. This past Saturday, we got another update about Mark and how he is progressing in his recovery.

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Saturday, KLTV published an update on their friend and our trusted weatherman. To put it in a nutshell, Mark is doing great and his recovery is going very good and that a return to giving us our daily forecast is not out of the question. This is awesome to hear.

What does it mean when someone "suffers a stroke"?

A stroke can be characterized as a "blood flow accident." This "accident" can be anything from a blocked blood vessel to a blood vessel that bursts in the brain. Either way, medical care must take place as quickly as possible.

What are some signs of a stroke?

The signs of stroke can include any or all of these symptoms:

  • Face drooping
  • Arm weakness
  • Slurred speech

What happens after a stroke?

The severity of a stroke will vary. For some, recovery can be quick and the person can return to their normal daily routine. For others, the severity of the stroke can lead to constant care. Depending on the severity of the stroke, one or all of these problems could persist afterwards:

  • weakness or total paralysis of the arm, hand and/or leg on one side of the body
  • decreased ability to concentrate on tasks
  • difficulty with expressing ideas and/or understanding others
  • difficulty with swallowing and/or speech
  • difficulty balancing
  • memory issues
  • emotional changes – frustration, anxiety, grief
  • depression
  • lack of awareness of loss of function after the stroke
  • vision problems
  • difficulty controlling bowel and bladder

If you would to learn more about recognizing a stroke, go to kindredhealthcare.com.

As for Mark, he said that his return to the KLTV Weather Center could come "sooner rather than later." Either way, we are all continuing to pray for Mark as he continues his recovery. If you would like to send Mark a quick prayer or a get well wish, you can email it to getwellmark@kltv.com.

Update from Tuesday, May 24

We learned a couple of weeks ago of KLTV 7 Meteorologist Mark Scirto suffering a stroke. Since that news, East Texas has been praying and sending well wishes to Mark as he recovers and is undergoing rehab. Last night during the 5, 6 and 10 p.m. newscasts, KLTV gave us an update on how Mark is doing.

Something we didn't know was that Mark was in Dallas when he suffered his stroke. He remained there as doctors and nurses looked after him. The big news is Mark is back home in East Texas and recovering very well at home. Doctors have even said they are impressed with Mark's recovery. Mark will continue rehabbing for the next few weeks.

In the meantime, if you're a KLTV 7 viewer, you've noticed some schedules have shifted on the air. Katie Vossler, who has helmed weather for Good Morning East Texas, is moving into Mark's slot for the 4, 5, 6 and 10 p.m. newscasts. It looks like Cody Gottschalk and Andrew Tate will handle Good Morning East Texas. Katie will also be providing the afternoon, evening and overnight forecasts for our radio stations, 101.5 KNUE, Mix 93.1, Classic Rock 96.1, 107.3 KISS FM, while Mark is out.

Overall, this is excellent news. Mark did have this to say,

The messages and prayers have been physically felt, and it is a great feeling that so many people are caring for me. Don’t stop!

If you would like to send Mark a quick prayer or get well wish, you can send it to getwellmark@kltv.com. Get well Mark and we look forward to seeing you back on the air very soon.

Update from Friday, May 20

A majority of us do not know Mark Scirto personally but a majority of us have allowed him into our homes during the week at 4, 5, 6 and 10 p.m. So I guess, in a way, a majority of us do know Mark Scirto. That's why East Texans have been sending prayers and well wishes to Mark after we learned he had suffered a stroke. Thursday, May 19, we got an update from KLTV about Mark and how he is doing with more news coming soon.

KLTV let it's viewers know on Thursday, May 19, that Mark Scirto is recovering very well after suffering a stroke. He has spoken several times with his colleagues at KLTV over the last week. They even reported that he joined them via a video call during a staff meeting earlier this week.

There is a special email set up to send Mark a prayer or a "Get Well" wish, getwellmark@kltv.com, and he has been getting those prayers and well wishes and "reading every single one."

This is excellent news to hear. What's even better is that we all will get a BIG update on Monday. If I had to guess, they will probably have a segment during their main newscast where they talk with Mark, possibly live, to get a more detailed update on his recovery.

Keep those well wishes and prayers going as we all hope Mark will be back in our living rooms soon.

Original Story from Monday, May 16

I have lived in East Texas my entire life. Born and raised in Lindale, lived in Tyler for about 20 years. One constant through my years in East Texas has been KLTV meteorologist Mark Scirto. With the exception of a few years, he has always been the weather man I remember giving the daily forecast or informing us about severe weather moving through the area. That's why I was sad to hear the news on Friday, May 13 that Mark had suffered a stroke.

Mark Scirto has been the go to meteorologist in East Texas for three plus decades. His knowledge of weather and how it moves through our area is really unmatched. Personally, when severe weather moves through East Texas, I turn to KLTV and will watch Mark's coverage.

For one, severe weather fascinates me. Watching the lightning light up the night sky then hearing the booming thunder mixed with the sound of a heavy rain is a true experience for me. I also watch because I love the educational experience of his coverage. He's not scaring us into jumping into our closets, he takes the information he has in front of him, along with the information from the National Weather Service, and gives us an accurate depiction of what's going on around us.

Just watching this Facebook Live coverage from earlier this month shows that off perfectly.

For full disclosure, our group of radio stations, 101.5 KNUE, Mix 93.1, Classic Rock 96.1 and 107.3 KISS FM has been partnered with KLTV for many years to bring you a daily forecast from their weather team. Mark Scirto delivers the afternoon, evening and overnight forecasts for you on our airwaves. Last week, May 9 through the 13, I was getting the forecasts from either Andrew Tate, Cody Gottschalk or KTRE Chief Meteorologist Brad Hlozek. I thought Mark was just on vacation.

It wasn't until the 5 o'clock news that I learned, as many of you did, that Mark had suffered a stroke.

You may have noticed Chief Meteorologist Mark Scirto hasn’t been on our newscasts for several days. We want you to know...

As they said in their report, Mark is recovering well and is itching to get back to work. I've communicated with Andrew Tate and Cody Gottschalk this weekend and they are very appreciative of the prayers for Mark.

Your prayer doesn't have to be anything elaborate, just a simple:

Lord, I pray for your help in healing Mark and for the doctors and nurses who are assisting him. Amen.

You can also send your personal well wishes to Mark through a special email set up for him, GetWellMark@kltv.com. We hope to have him back telling us to get into our small, windowless interior rooms very soon.

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