Indianapolis Anchor to Miss Months on the Air
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Longtime WTHR Anchor John Stehr announced Tuesday he's taking a monthslong leave of absence from the station.
The Anchor says he needs to focus on his health following open-heart surgery.
Stehr, who joined WTHR in 1995, shared the news of his surgery in a Facebook post Tuesday night.
The Indy Star writes that about 10 years ago, Stehr wrote, a doctor noticed a slight aneurysm in his aorta. Although it didn't require immediate attention, he said he and his doctors watched it grow over time until it eventually needed to be fixed.
"Over the last decade, I have gotten tremendous advice from medical professionals and I will never be able to thank them enough," he wrote. "I have no doubt that I am getting, and will continue to enjoy, the best possible care."
He credits his family, friends, co-workers and neighbors with supporting him throughout the process.
"God has given me this journey, but has also given me what I need to take it," he said.
Still, Stehr has a long road to recovery.
"I have a long and arduous series of follow-up appointments, physical re-hab, and other things to go through before I can make it back to work," he wrote. "I have been further blessed to be in a job that allows me to share the good and bad, the highs and lows, and the major events that have defined our community over nearly a quarter of a century now.
"I look forward to resuming that as soon as I possibly can."
