Rory Markas on road back after brain surgery

What Rory Markas remembers about his blood clot is the blinding headache followed by the uncontrollable nausea that came on him Nov. 1 when he was between two stand-up news segments he was doing in Lancaster for the Fox 11 10 p.m. news broadcast.

Markas remembers the story was about a shooting, he remembers the pain and vomiting and then he remembers a few days later being in Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and demanding to leave.

"I think I was a little combative," Markas said today in a telephone interview. "I think I really wanted to get out."

Markas, a Los Angeles Angels and USC men’s basketball play-by-play radio announcer, is recovering well from a blood clot that was surgically removed Nov. 3 and had kept him hospitalized, mostly in intensive care, until Nov. 10.

"I’m very, very fortunate," Markas said. "I don’t have loss of motor skills; I can speak fine, things that normally can go bad, none of those happened. The surgery was successful. I saw my surgeon yesterday, and he said I’m pretty much back to normal."

Markas said the only problem he’s had –- other than having no memory from the moment his headache hit until several days after surgery, which, he says, is probably a blessing –- is some trouble with peripheral vision.

"I’ve been told your brain is your computer," Markas said. "My computer crashed, and I have to give it a little time to reboot."

Markas said he hopes to attend USC's Dec. 20 game at the Galen Center against North Dakota State just as a fan and not as a broadcaster. "I want to test my strength," he said.

There was never any thought of missing the basketball season to rest up for baseball, he said. "I love basketball," he said. "I was really looking forward to the trip to the Puerto Rico tournament because it was going to be such great basketball. And I’m going to miss [Thursday’s] Oklahoma trip. I wanted to see the [football] stadium."

In his absence, another Angels play-by-play announcer, Steve Physioc, and Trojans football play-by-play guy Pete Arbogast have filled in.

Markas said he appreciates that USC basketball coach Tim Floyd calls regularly just to talk about the sport and that sports information director Tim Tessalone came to the hospital. "I feel like USC really means it when they say I should take my time in getting back," Markas said. "But I will be back."

-- Diane Pucin

Photo credit: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim