Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
This was posted on Sunday, January 29, 2017 by Rodney Ho on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
B98.5 mid-day host Tripp West announced on Facebook today that he is having brain surgery Monday to remove a tumor.
He said three years ago, he was first diagnosed with a small brain tumor. Doctors, he wrote, kept it small with medicine. But the tumor began to grow again last year.
His neurosurgeon in Atlanta referred him to Duke University.
There, he received bad news: the tumor had grown into West's hypothalamus and third ventricle. He was told only brain surgery could remove it.
He left at 6 a.m. with his wife Jill to Duke. He is scheduled for surgery Monday. [UPDATE Tuesday, January 31: I heard he got through surgery okay and is now recuperating in ICU.]
"The outpouring of love, support, and prayers from my family and my radio family has been absolutely amazing, and so very comforting," he wrote. "I will be out for six weeks recuperating. Many have asked, 'What can I do for you?' All I ask is that you say a little prayer for me that the surgery goes great, and that I'm able to get back to the me that I once was."
In a text this morning, he said he feels okay, just a little tired. "The location of the tumor has disrupted the function of the pituitary gland. I'm hopeful that my body will regain normal function after the surgery, which would allow me to return to a more active lifestyle." Among the symptoms: fatigue and increased appetite. He said the tumor left him exposed to potential seizures.
West said he's thankful for a supportive and loving family as well as great folks at work.
He has a wife and two daughters and now lives in Powder Springs, according to his B98.5 bio.
The long-time DJ has been in Atlanta since 1997 and spent 11 years at Star 94.1 doing mid days. After that station let him go, he spent eight months as morning producer at 94.9/The Bull, followed by afternoons at now defunct dance station 105.7/The Groove, then two years at Atlanta’s Greatest Hits until the station changed to the news format in 2012.
He then did nights at B98.5 and overnights at News 95.5 and AM 750 WSB for a few years. B98.5 gave him full-time work hosting mid days starting in the fall of 2015.
B98.5 and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution are both part of Cox Media Group.
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