Karlos Taylor Returns to Mississippi College Classroom Following A Stroke

Mississippi College graphic design instructor Karlos Taylor works with graduate student Xin Jiang on a project during a class.

Karlos Taylor credits God’s grace and a wonderful staff at Methodist Rehabilitation Center for speeding his recovery from a stroke last fall.

Mississippi College’s graphic design graduate coordinator, Taylor is once again enjoying life as an educator on the Clinton campus this summer.

Art Department Chairman Randy Miley and other colleagues are delighted that Karlos is doing what he loves most – teaching graduate students. “We’re glad to have him back in the saddle,” Miley said Wednesday. “He stepped in where he left off.”

At the Aven Fine Arts Building, Taylor stayed busy on July 20 working with several Chinese students seeking their master’s degrees at the Baptist-affiliated university.

The world for the talented Mississippi College graphic design graduate looked drastically different on the evening of October 26, 2015.

Suffering a stroke, Taylor couldn’t move his right arm or leg when he collapsed to the floor. The Mississippian could hardly speak or breathe when his sister called 911 and he was rushed to St. Dominic Hospital in Jackson.

Taylor, 40, had suffered a cerebral hemorrhage, a devastating type of stroke caused by a blood vessel rupturing and bleeding inside the brain.

His compelling story by writer Carey Miller will appear in the Methodist Rehabilitation Center magazine in November. The art professor began therapy in a wheelchair at the MRC in Jackson two weeks after his stroke.

The article appears on the center’s website at methodistonline.org and Miller’s well-researched piece captures the essence of his challenging journey to return to his teaching duties.

The MRC’s incredible staff did a terrific job in the process. “Their diversity in personalities and care is their great strength,” Taylor said when reached on the Clinton campus this week. “I have never been so attended to. They truly partner with you on your recovery,” he added. “I am impacted forever.”

Early during his ordeal, Taylor wondered if he would walk again. He was determined to teach again at the Christian university and worked hard with the MRC staff in therapy. It gave him plenty of time to think.

After leaving inpatient rehab, Taylor enrolled at Quest, the Methodist Rehabilitation Center’s comprehensive outpatient program for people with brain or spinal injuries. He worked well with caring teams of physical therapists and speech therapists. He made a successful return to work after he “graduated” from the Quest program June 3. He went back to teaching at Mississippi College later that month.

This gem of a teacher seeks to share his amazing story. He hopes it serves as a warning to others who struggle with hypertension (he was first diagnosed at age 36) to closely monitor their health.

In addition to praising the therapy staff, Taylor thanked his church (New Vision Fellowship in Brandon), his kids, his sister, Natalye Jones, along with his girlfriend and others along the way. Each day in the hospital, somebody from his church family visited the professor.

“God chose to keep me here,” Taylor said in the magazine story. “I think He still has things He wants me to accomplish, like be there for my kids. I’m a living testament for them of the power of prayer.”

Colleagues like MC art professor Steve Cook speak highly of this fine teacher. “He has been a great friend to us all,” Cook said. “Knowing that he has worked hard to overcome his situation has been an example for us of faith and determination.”