Former Mayor Graham returns to the air after monthslong illness

Mar. 30—WATERTOWN — For the first time in nearly five months, former Mayor Jeffrey E. Graham is back in front of a microphone, talking about the issues of the day with listeners of his noontime Hotline radio show.

He spent 139 days in area hospitals and receiving rehab in two long-term care facilities, recuperating from an illness that damn near killed him.

"I'm just lucky to be alive because for all of accounts, I shouldn't be," Mr. Graham said Wednesday at his house behind the Pearl Street bar that he owns.

He had an infection in his hip that turned into sepsis, a condition in which chemicals are released in the bloodstream to fight an infection that triggers inflammation throughout the body. It can lead to organ failure and sometimes death.

It became so serious that he spent about 10 days in the intensive care unit at Upstate Community Hospital in Syracuse.

At one point, he was given last rites by a priest who happened to be passing by his room.

"It was a little dicey," the former mayor said.

And Mr. Graham, 67, doesn't remember any of that. He only knows about it because he's been told about what happened to him and was shown photos of him in the hospital.

He only was made aware of his diagnosis on Thursday afternoon after calling Mayor Jeffrey M. Smith, who had to tell him what happened.

"Those first two months are a little fuzzy," Mr. Graham said.

During the ordeal, Mayor Smith, who is a physician assistant at Upstate Community, helped arrange some of the medical care at the hospital and make sure that he got what he needed.

After weeks of physical therapy, Mr. Graham was discharged from Samaritan Summit Village last Friday and is back at home, with the help of certified nurse assistant Jesse Jarrell, who's doing just about everything for him.

During his medical care, Mr. Graham spent two stays at Upstate Community and Carthage Area Hospital, once each at Lewis Hospital, and the Carthage Center and Samaritan Summit for rehab.

But Mr. Graham, who served as Watertown mayor for 20 years, is back in a familiar and comfortable place — on his longtime Hotline show on WATN-AM 1240.

"It's great to be back," he said. "I'm a guy who likes to talk certainly and I like talking about things."

His boss, James L. Levin, WATN's president and CEO, is also glad that the former mayor is back on and that he's on the mend.

"Jeff Graham is one of the few people in Watertown that you can refer to as a legend," he said, adding that the community is welcoming him back, as well.

This week, Mr. Graham returned as a guest host for the Hotline, sharing the show with Live @ Five host Glen Curry for the first three days and with Mayor Smith on Thursday and today. Starting Monday, Mr. Graham will do the Hotline solo.

Mayor Smith and Mr. Curry stood in for the former mayor for the four months he was ill.

On Thursday, Mr. Graham was already comfortable talking about what's going on locally and on the national scene as the two former political adversaries shared the hosting responsibilities.

During the hourlong Hotline, callers made sure to welcome Mr. Graham back to the show.

Much of the hour was devoted to a discussion about the city's controversial purchase of the former Watertown Golf Club at Thompson Park for $3.4 million from developer Michael E. Lundy.

The handful of callers who called opposed the deal, mainly for its price tag and the likeliness that it will lose the city money.

"I was always for unifying the land with the city," the former mayor said. "I just can't justify a deal for $3.4 million and not look at the building."

After the deal was finalized, it was discovered that the clubhouse's electrical system must be replaced. The replacement cost has not been determined yet.

While it might lose money, Mr. Graham also sees running a golf course as offering a service to city residents.

Off the air, Mr. Graham told Mayor Smith that he thinks that the mayor should do what he can to make the Thompson Park Golf Course a success and no longer talk negatively about the deal.

The two mayors also talked about both local and national politics during their hour on the air.

At one point during the Hotline, a regular caller said he was glad to hear the former mayor was on the radio again.

"He's upright," Mayor Smith joked. "He's not pushing up daisies. He's well."

The two mayors said they enjoyed working together on the Hotline.

Mr. Graham thanked his friends for helping him. They've sent get-well cards, stopped by to see him and have done a lot to make his life easier.

Former Councilwoman Roxanne M. Burns and her two sons, Collin and Dane, for doing things before he went to the hospital and since he came home.

Friends have also taken care of his beloved dog, Jet. His staff at his bar kept the Pearl Street establishment open during his entire ordeal, and it made more money than when Mr. Graham was running it, he said.

He also thanked medical staff for the care he received for all of those months.

It was the former councilwoman and Mayor Smith who had to convince a stubborn former mayor to get into an ambulance that took him to the Syracuse hospital.

"I don't think he would have gone if we didn't make him," Ms. Burns said.

That was Nov. 7. Three days later, his older brother, Bruce, made his way from his home in South Carolina to see him in the hospital.

The former mayor was on a ventilator, on a feeding tube and all kinds of wires hooked up to him. He couldn't talk.

And now he must use a wheelchair, while the future of his mobility remains unclear, his brother said.

At one point during the early days of the ordeal, Mr. Graham stopped breathing and was sent to the ICU, his brother said.

Bruce Graham acknowledges that it's a miracle that his brother was alive today.

"I've been given a second chance," the former mayor said.