How to go
Artist Tom Watson III will share his works to raise stroke awareness this spring at the following events:
The DVAC (Dayton Visual Arts Center) annual art auction and preview: 6:30 to 9 p.m. April 27, Sinclair Community College Ponitz Center, 444 W. Third St., Dayton
Dayton Circus Sideshow Lucky #7: evenings of May 11-12, Yellow Cab Building, 700 E. Fourth St., Dayton
Artist info: http://www.facebook.com/tomwatson3rd.art
Tom Watson III’s art has gained national recognition. But for Watson, who lives in Kettering, the path was rough.
It started with headaches — intense, “vice-grip” headaches — over the course of a week.
Then, in the middle of a graphic design class at the University of Dayton, Watson’s right arm went numb.
“I thought, I need to pack up, excuse myself politely and go home,” Watson said on March 13. “If I had actually done that, I could have been dead or even killed someone else on the road.”
Instead, March 17, 2005, became the pivotal day for both his life and his career. On that day Watson, then 34, suffered a brain-stem embolism, a rare and severe stroke that leaves many survivors paralyzed.
As his symptoms worsened — he lost the use of his right leg, struggled to speak and began having convulsions — he was taken by ambulance to Miami Valley Hospital, where doctors struggled for a diagnosis.
“It was St. Patrick’s Day,” Watson said. “I was young. They thought I was out partying. That wasn’t it.
“They’ve never been able to give me a reason why it happened. The best theory they have is it may have been genetic, or perhaps related to a pretty bad car accident that caused whiplash years earlier.”
After a month in the hospital and a summer of rehabilitation, he was able to return to school. That’s where a silver lining to his experience began to emerge. An art project exploring the medical imagery of his stroke led to dozens, then hundreds of works; more than 800 so far.
“Once people see you can walk again and you’re so-called better, people don’t understand the psychological recovery is still going on, invisible,” he said.
“The art helps you deal with the pain and get through it. I started to share that art and open up, and little by little I started getting more recognition for it.”
Watson’s pieces involve a willowy silhouette of his burst artery set against colorful, collaged or paint-splattered backgrounds. They’ve sold in local art shows, galleries and auctions, and on T-shirts at shops such as Urban Handmade in Yellow Springs.
In October his works brought him a national honor. Watson became the first recipient of the National Stroke Association’s RAISE (Raising Awareness and Increasing Stroke Education) Outstanding Individual Award, handed over in a Denver ceremony by actor Henry Winkler.
Just another opportunity to spread his message.
“Strokes don’t just happen to older people. It happens to all ages, for various reasons. And it’s important to be aware, because you may be able to save someone’s life — or your own.”
Watson will celebrate what he calls his “seventh stroke-iversary” today while at a family wedding in Iowa.
In June, he and his wife Elizabeth are expecting their second son. He remains on blood pressure and cholesterol medication.
“In some ways, I’m still in recovery to this day,” he said. “But year after year, I look back and I see that there’s subtle improvement. I’m an example that there is hope.”
Contact contributing writer Ria Megnin at ria@riamegnin.com.
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