Viking Voice Owes Life to Former Wildcat Written by: Phil Jones | Photography by: Brandon Pham
On any given Friday night during the South Georgia high school football season, as you tune around listening to your favorite high school football team’s broadcast on the radio, chances are you’ve heard the booming voice of Wes James coming through your radio. James has been part of the Lowndes Vikings radio broadcast team, the Viking Voice, for 18 years, calling Viking home and away games during that time. James loves the Vikings and loves to be behind the microphone, so he’s been right at home in the press box on Friday nights. Last fall, James called his final game for his beloved Vikings, deciding to call it quits. While Vikings fans surely hate to see him go, at least he got to do it on his own terms, rather than be forced to step away, which is exactly what almost happened to James on two different occasions with health scares.
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“I was told later by the doctor that he didn’t know if I was going to make it if they didn’t operate right away.” — Wes James
The first came in the spring of 2000. James woke up one morning hurting with mild stomach pain, and as the day went on, the pain grew worse. Finally, he decided to visit his family doctor, who, after examining him, sent James to Dr. David Parker. At the time, James thought he would be examined, get a prescription, and be on his way home. James found out quickly that would not be the case. “I asked Dr. Parker how long my exam would take,” James said. “That’s when he gave me the news: three days.” Parker wanted to do extensive tests to determine the cause of James’ problem. Those tests revealed that James had diverticulitis, a painful inflammation of the digestive tract. James was given a course of antibiotics and pain medication in hopes of clearing up the affliction. After six weeks, however, his condition
