The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Matzke back to work following surgery
Mayor took several weeks off due to health issues
After spending two weeks working from home, the mayor is back in his office at City Hall.
ONEIDA, N.Y. » Tuesday was Mayor Leo Matzke’s first day back in the office since being hospitalized, but that hasn’t stopped him from working.
Matzke said he was first discharged from the hospital two weeks ago, but during that time he’s been working from home and meeting people at his home office.
Matzke had been out of office since November, originally for a fluid build up in his right lung that was later revealed to be pneumonia in the lower half of his lung.
At Tuesday’s common council meeting, Matzke said that since then, he had to have a major surgery for an obstruction in his intestinal track.
“I was in a lot of pain, to be honest,” Matzke said. “Nobody wanted to do the surgery since I
had a lot of risk factors going against me, mainly my age and a clotting problem. So I had three options. One was to see if it would pass, which it didn’t. Two was to go on a liquid food diet, but that makes you housebound 20 hours a day and I didn’t want that. The third was to take the risk of surgery.”
Matzke knew the risks, but he and his wife made a decision, put their faith in God, and took the risk of surgery, he said.
“We put faith in the good Lord and I put faith and trust in God, it’s central to my life,” Matzke said.
Ever y thing turned out for the best. Matzke said he feels much better and is hoping to recover quickly. Matzke said WayneWinchell, who is like a son to him, has been helping him get around and do what he needs to do.
“I wanted to thank the council and department heads for pitching in while I was gone. A lot of decisions had to be made, and Jim Chamberlain stepped up again as deputy mayor and moved the city forward,” Matzke said. “I look forward to jumping back in myself, since it’s my way of paying back the city for everything they’ve done for me and my family.”