“Legend” isn’t a distinction to be thrown around much, but when it comes to Fort Worth music, blues in particular — and accounting for all the history in that genre dating to Robert Ealey, Blue Bird Café, and earlier — James “Gut-tar” Hinkle is a living legend.
The blues singer-songwriter, painter, and all-around bon vivant is recovering in a “miraculous” way from a heart surgery with only a 10% survival rate, recently posted his wife and partner of 33 years, Elizabeth Parmer. “His tube is out. He’s sitting up in a chair. He’s conscious. First thing he said to me was, ‘I love you more than anything in the world,’ and the first thing he said to [our daughter] Claire [Hinkle] was, ‘I told you I’d never leave you.’ Doctors are coming by to view him because this is such a miraculous surgery. Keep the love coming. [three red heart emojis]”
Only several hours earlier, Hinkle woke up Parmer at 4 in the morning to call for an ambulance.
“ER doctor told us to say goodbye, basically,” Parmer posted later that night.
The trouble turned out to be a “massive” aortic dissection, an injury to the innermost layer of the aorta which allows bloodflow between the layers of the aortic wall, “forcing the layers apart,” says WebMD.
Only 10 years ago, Hinkle suffered an emergency aortic aneurysm and also almost died.
For his aortic dissection, Hinkle’s cardio thoracic doctor from 10 years ago, Dr. Carlos Macias at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital, performed the surgery. The next eight hours were grueling.
“Please send Mr. Fort Worth the good vibes because he loves you all,” posted the wife and mom at the time.
Parmer is pleased with the results. “I am exhausted but so very hopeful, as Claire and I were told to say goodbye, but [Hinkle’s] amazing cardio thoracic surgeon, Dr. Macias … said, ‘I am going to try and fix it.’ And here we are.
“It’s a long-haul recovery,” she continued, “but [Hinkle] will do it.”
No crowd-sourcing campaign is underway, but Hinkle has requested that anyone who wants to make donations to give in his name to the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians (HAAM) or any other similar organization that helps artists with medical bills.
“He would probably love that and be honored,” Parmer said.
Get well soon, Jimmy. We love you.
