Dick Wells returns to the air

WARWICK - For the first time in more than three months, Dick Well sat behind the mike in the new Warwick studios of Radio WTBQ (1110 AM) this past Saturday, Dec. 8, and considers it a miracle that he was playing Sinatra-era tunes and plugging sponsors in the same way as he has for years during his broadcast. “It’s like I’ve never been away,” he smiled. On Sunday, Sept. 3, Wells was singing at Warwick’s Railroad Green Park with “The Fun Bunch,” a traditional “Big Band.” It was unseasonably warm that day, but the two and one-half hour concert had attracted a large crowd. Although Wells keeps his age a professional secret, it is common knowledge that he’s been performing for more than 50 years. He sang with the world-famous Harry James Band in Las Vegas and performed on stage with entertainers like Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. Wells also sang with the Sammy Kaye orchestra and he once appeared on the Johnny Carson Tonight Show. That Sunday, he had been looking forward to the Village of Warwick concert and had planned to sing 15 songs. Wells, however, had confided to friends, earlier that morning, that he wasn’t feeling well. But by the afternoon his voice was strong and, judging by the applause, everyone was enjoying the performance. At about 5 p.m., Wells began singing his last song of the day, “Tangerine,” when he suddenly stopped and said, “Oh no!’ and fell to the ground, striking his head. Professional first responders who happened to be in the audience realized that he was not breathing and began administering CPR. Warwick Police soon arrived with an AED (Automatic External Defibrillator). After two shocks they felt a weak pulse and Wells was rushed by ambulance to nearby St. Anthony Community Hospital. Wells was then taken to the Intensive Care Unit and placed on a respirator. The cause of the collapse was determined to be a heart attack and as soon as practical, he was taken off the respirator and transported to the cardiac unit at Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern. St. Anthony Community Hospital, Good Samaritan Hospital and Bon Secours Community Hospital in Port Jervis are all members of the Bon Secours Charity Health System and patients are sometimes transported to the hospital within the system that can offer the most appropriate care. Wells subsequently underwent heart surgery and after a period of recuperation and therapy, returned to his home in Warwick. In an unusual gesture of good will and friendship, the sponsors of Wells’ weekly show, volunteered their own time to continue every broadcast. Longtime sponsors and business owners like Leo Kaytes and Michael Sweeton as well as relative newcomers like Mechelle Casciotta, just to name a few, pitched in each week to spin the disks and hawk all of the show’s sponsors. Kaytes, a local Ford dealer, even encouraged listeners to purchase their Chevrolets from a rival sponsor, Country Chevrolet. “I’d rather sell a Ford,” he said, “but if someone is going to buy a Chevrolet it ought to have a Warwick dealer’s nameplate.” The business owners not only kept the show alive but they even managed to recruit new sponsors. “It’s unheard of,” said Wells, “that someone could be away from a radio show for three months and return to learn that hardly anything has changed. I am eternally grateful to these sponsors, my friends, for helping me so much.” Wells admits that his biggest danger would be forgetting to name someone out of all those who were literally responsible for saving his life. They include, but are not limited to his friends and loved ones, the first responders, all the medical professionals, members of the clergy, his fans and most of all, those who offered their prayers. “I don’t want anyone to think I forgot him or her,” said Wells. “It’s just that there are so many people I have to thank and, right now, I’m overwhelmed.” However, Wells does know that the hero of this episode was his wife, Diane, who remained at his side while he was in the hospital almost every waking moment. “I had to chase her home at night,” he said. “But then I made sure she called me so that I knew she had arrived safely.” Diane Wells recalled that when her husband first awoke from his sedation in the Intensive Care Unit at St. Anthony Community Hospital, he said, “Thank you,” to his nurse and then reached up to touch his wife’s face while lifting his head for a kiss. Kaytes - his friend of 30 years - was a daily visitor. “We all started to cry,” said Diane Wells. “Then Leo smiled and that was the biggest smile I’ve ever seen on him.” Later, when Dick Wells had been transported to Good Samaritan Hospital, his doctors told him that he would need by-pass surgery. “Do what you have to do,” he said. “I want to live.”