Still not on speaking terms, veteran D-FW anchor John McCaa remains on the mend

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
John McCaa, mainstay news anchor of Dallas-based TEGNA8, remains off the air and on the mend after suffering a hairline fracture of his jaw under unusual circumstances.

In an email reply Wednesday to unclebarky.com, McCaa said he had a pair of back teeth extracted two weeks ago and hoped to have them replaced with implants.

But last week, while eating a piece of french bread with “the teeth on the opposite side of my mouth, I heard something that sounded similar to the cracking of ice underfoot in the winter. I immediately experienced some of the worst pain I have ever had.”

At Baylor Hospital in Irving, a hairline fracture was discovered.

“I was then transported to Baylor downtown where a terrific team of surgeons and medical professionals operated and put in place, beneath the skins, a pair of metal plates,” he says. “A surgeon later told me the fracture was a bad one. While much of the time people have their jaw wired shut, for me that’s not much of an option. So I am talking as little as possible.”

McCaa says he was released from the hospital on Christmas Day. “I still have some pain, but the greater problem is part of my jaw and lower lip are numb. The surgeon told me that that happens in any surgery near a nerve. I should recover full feeling, but have no idea how long that will take. I am home now for at least a week.”

McCaa wrote an “Uncut” commentary for wfaa.com Tuesday on the resilience of Garland, TX. “I am itching to get back to work,” he says. “You know, it is amazing to watch your own news room from home.”

He has another doctor’s appointment next week and will take it from there, McCaa says.

We wish him a quick recovery and a full return to the resonant voice that’s been a constant in D-FW since 1984.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net