Lyon commissioner recovering after TIA

Lyon County Commissioner Larry McPherson said reports he had suffered a stroke were greatly exaggerated.

"I didn't have a stroke," he said. "I had something they call a TIA."

"TIA" is short for transient ischemic attack.

McPherson had some cancer cells removed from his head on Monday, and said he started feeling funny on Wednesday afternoon.

"I felt something and found I was drooling," he said. "Then I started to talk, and I couldn't talk."

He was taken by ambulance to Carson Tahoe Regional Medical Center on Wednesday afternoon, where he spent the night. His voice returned late Wednesday night, and he was discharged from the medical center on Thursday afternoon.

McPherson, a Republican, was elected to represent District II on the commission, defeating Democrat Charlie Lawson 54 percent to 45 percent.

Before running for commissioner, he was a semi-retired truck driver and president of the National Pony Express Association, Nevada Division. McPherson participated in the re-enactment of the Pony Express ride from St. Joseph, Mo., to Sacramento each year and he and his horse have been a familiar sight to parade goers in Virginia City, Fernley and Carson City.

He lives in Stagecoach with his wife, Nancy. They have two daughters and three grandchildren.

Before joining the county commissioners, McPherson served on the Dayton Valley Events Center board, the Regional Transportation Commission, the Silver Springs-Stagecoach District Hospital Board and the Stagecoach Regional Advisory Council.

He is a member of the Kiwanis Club of Dayton Township and has volunteered for Lyon County Search and Rescue.