Longtime KTRK Sports Anchor Tim Melton suffered a stroke back in October 2011, yesterday he that his contract with KTRK has expired and that he is no longer with the station.

Melton, who joined the station in 1981, said he continues to recover and hopes to return to the air but is not yet prepared to do so.

“I can do a lot of things, but not everything the job requires,” Melton said. “I still hope to get back on the air. That’s always been my plan. The problem is that you never know how things are going to play out, and while the recovery process has been good, it has taken longer than I would have imagined.”

He said he was grateful for viewers’ best wishes and is still engaged in the Houston sports scene.

“I appreciate (viewers’) prayers, and there have been a lot of them,” Melton said. “I miss being on the air. I miss not reporting, especially on a night like this (with the NFL Draft and the Rockets’ playoffs run). I have had a lot of prayers and support, and I hope to be back.”

The stroke, Melton said, impacted the thalamus, which relays sensory and motor signals. He is right-handed, and he said the stroke affected his right side.

He was treated for two months at TIRR Memorial Hermann, the Texas Medical Center hospital that specializes in rehabilitation treatment and whose patients include former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, and continues rehabilitation work as an outpatient.

He said he is able to drive and do normal daily tasks and credited TIRR and his wife, Sandy, with aiding his progress.

Melton said he enjoyed his years at KTRK, particularly the stability of working with longtime colleagues Dave Ward, Ed Brandon, the late Marvin Zindler, Tom Abrahams, Bob Allen, Bob Slovak and producer Joe Gleason, among others.

“When you watched Channel 13, you saw friends, and hopefully you saw people that you trusted bringing you the news,” he said. “It was that steadiness and that rock that you could depend on.”

His disclosure that he has left Channel 13 came on the same day Allen, who left Channel 13 in January, returned to the air as sports director at KHOU (Channel 11).

“I’m happy for Bob,” he said, “And I know he’s happy, too. It’s a great opportunity for him, and it’s great for Channel 11. They got a great guy.”

H/T Houston Chronicle