Patton Wages, banjo player with Volume Five and instructor at Acoustic Cellar Guitars in Clarksville, GA, suffered a stroke on Monday night (February 22). He was taken to the hospital in Greenville, SC and was listed in critical condition overnight.
He is undergoing surgery this morning following several brain scans, and the early reports are quite good. Doctors say that Patton’s blood pressure has come down, and they feel quite confident that there was no major brain bleed or burst artery. They suspect that a blood clot was the culprit, and the surgical team is hoping to find and remove it this morning.
At this time, we have no indication whether Patton will suffer any permanent loss of function from the stroke, though his doctors have told the family that they hope for a complete recovery. We will update this story throughout the day as more details are available.
According to reports we have received, Patton was teaching lessons yesterday evening with no indication of any trouble. At some point, we understand that he was taken to the hospital by his father.
The family is asking everyone to pray for Patton and his medical team, and for him to recuperate quickly.
UPDATE 10:15 a.m. – It turns out that Patton was quite lucky in being able to get medical attention right away. His father says that they were watching television at home last night, and he noted that Patton’s speech became slurred and his eyes were rolled back. His dad called 911 right away, and first responders were able to provide a shot to prevent further stroke damage to the brain.
His family reports that they were all quite concerned last night whether he would make it, as doctors said they couldn’t do surgery until his blood pressure dropped and stabilized. They thank God that the pressure is down, and we expect a report following surgery soon.
UPDATE 12:45 p.m. – We are told via Patton’s father that his surgery was successfully concluded, with a doctor’s report that things went better than expected. No further word yet on likely outcomes.
UPDATE 4:30 p.m. – A number of fundraising efforts are underway to assist Patton with medical expenses, as well as the costs of whatever therapy may be required for his recovery.
A GoFundMe campaign has been launched by his friends and co-workers at Acoustic Cellar Guitars, where Wages not only taught several instruments, but also served as assistant manager. They have set a $50,000 goal to assist Patton with whatever he may need.
A Venmo account, @benefitforpattonwages, is also set up with all proceeds going to his care. Donations can also be made at any Regions Bank care of “to Benefit for Patton Wages.”
For those who may prefer to send a check or money order, you are asked to send to:
Benefit for Patton Wages
c/o Acoustic Cellar Guitars
1442 Washington St.
Clarkesville, Ga. 30523
UPDATE 6:00 p.m. – From Patton’s sister we learn that a later scan today shows a greatly reduced amount of blood on his brain. He is currently awake and alert, and responding to simple prompts.
