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Hey, it's Cousin Vinny here
on the Cousin Vinny Network.
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:Well, here's the next phase
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:Uh, again, I would never, ever,
ever wanna wish this on anyone
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:to ever this happen to anybody.
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:What happened since 2020 till currently
this year, um, when I think back
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:on it, it was pretty devastating.
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:Losing your eyesight
is, is, is pretty bad.
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:Uh, being blind in one eye and then
having the other good eye go to
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:shit, and I gotta say that today
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:Um, as of today, my vision is better.
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:Uh, I went to Gainesville
yesterday to pick up another lens.
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:I broke two, two, uh, lenses
that I had for my vision.
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:Um, one was, it just popped out
of my eyeball and hit the counter
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:and shattered, and the second one
popped out before I got it in.
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:I thought I had it in, stood up,
and it hit the floor and shattered.
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:So there went two hard contact
lenses in the last week.
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:I had no vision for a while.
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:I was back with glasses,
seeing okay, but not great.
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:And, uh, went up to Gainesville and
got my new contacts, gingerly put
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:it back in, and it's working again.
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:So vision is restored.
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:It's under control.
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:Um, it's still under care and treatment
of the doctors, so that part of my
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:life I, I feel like is now history.
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:It's now just maintain.
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:So let's get to the second
phase of this, uh, trifecta.
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:Well, because in 2020 or '21,
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:uh, you know, I was supposed to go
get my, uh, colonoscopy in:
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:That was my checkup time, and I
blew it off because I was having
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:the eyesight issues, and I didn't
think it was that important.
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:I said, "Well, I'll just do it later."
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:Well, later became later,
and then became later.
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:And
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:I finally went to the Tampa VA and had
a colonoscopy in July of:
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:um, got bad news, really bad news.
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:Uh, I had been diagnosed
with rectal cancer
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:And here's the funny part.
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:I went in for the, uh, colonoscopy at
the VA, and you know, you have to drink
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:the fluids before you can go take the,
the test, and you know, all that stuff.
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:And, um, and I, and my sister drove me
down and finally got checked into a room
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:late that evening, so I couldn't get any
food 'cause it was past the deadline.
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:So all I had was breakfast
that morning before.
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:So my sister left, and I got checked
into my room to get prepped for the
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:next day, and, uh, got rolled up to
the, uh, colonoscopy clinic or wherever
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:it was there at the VA in Tampa.
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:And the doctor told me the procedure.
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:Yeah, I said I did this about
10-plus years ago at Bay Pines,
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:and I know what the procedure is.
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:You're gonna put me to sleep, you're
gonna probe up my butt, and take a look
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:and tell me what's going on inside.
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:And he goes, "Yep."
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:I said, "Great."
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:So I fall asleep and wake up
in the room And I said, "Okay,
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:what do I get to eat tonight?"
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:She goes, "Uh, well, we're sorry, but
there's not gonna be any food tonight."
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:I go, "Why?"
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:She goes, "Well, the doctor says
we gotta do it again tomorrow."
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:"What do you mean?"
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:"Well, we have to do another
colonoscopy tomorrow.
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:You were so full of shit."
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:Ha, ha, ha.
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:I know all these people say that to me
all the time, "You're so full of shit,"
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:but literally I was so full of shit
that they couldn't get the probe in
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:correctly to do a, a, a real good probe.
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:So I get rolled into the exam room
or the prep room there, and the
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:doctor, the anesthesiologist looks
at me and goes, "Wait a minute.
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:Weren't you here yesterday?"
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:I go, "Yep."
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:He goes, "What happened?"
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:I said, "Well, I bought the
two-for-one sale, buy one, get one
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:free deal, and I'm back again today
'cause I was so full of shit."
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:And he just started laughing.
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:He goes, "Wow."
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:So put me out again, did their little
magic up my butt, got back to the room,
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:got some food, and lo and behold, the next
morning the, uh, chief surgeon came in.
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:She, uh, came in, and at that
time I had no vision at all.
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:I was almost totally blind.
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:I mean, I could see, you
know, shadows and stuff.
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:I could make outlines of
people with my left eye.
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:My right eye…
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:I mean, my left eye was gone.
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:My right eye, I could, you
know, barely make you out,
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:but I couldn't read anything.
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:And she comes in and sits by the
side of my bed, and I'm going,
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:"Oh, this is not gonna be good."
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:And she brings out a, um, a diagram of,
you know, what they found and what they
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:saw, and I said, I said, "Ma'am, I really
can't see what you're trying to show me.
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:Could you pretty much explain
to me what's going on?"
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:She goes, "Well, you have cancer
in your colon, in your rectum, and,
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:um, we couldn't get it all out with
the, you know, the colonoscopy.
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:There's still some stuff in there,
and there's some little nodules
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:and all this technical stuff."
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:And I get yelled at all the time because
I don't usually remember all the technical
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:things and all the jargon and all the
stuff they tell me because you know what?
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:I just think about, "Am I going to die?"
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:That's it.
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:That's all I cared about.
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:"Am I going to die?"
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:And she goes, "You could, but we
think we caught it soon enough that,
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:you know, with, with, with, with some
care and treatment, you know, we can
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:go in there and, and, and fix it."
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:And I said, "Okay.
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:What do we gotta do?"
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:She says, "Well, we've gotta prepare
you for surgery, and then we're gonna
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:go in and, and, um, get you through…
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:First, before we do all the surgeries,
we're gonna take you in and, and run
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:you through chemo and radiation, and
then we're gonna, you know, do the
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:surgery later on to make sure that
you, you know, we got most of it so we
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:don't have to take a lot out, and then
we're gonna put you on a, a poop bag."
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:I go, "One of those shit bags?"
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:She goes, "Yeah."
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:I said, "How long?"
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:She goes, "For the rest of your life."
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:And I go, "Oh, no, I don't think so."
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:So what happens now, you
go into survival mode.
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:My friend Pete and I started doing
research on it, trying to find other
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:doctors and other hospitals that, you
know, dealt with this kind of procedure.
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:And no, no, no, no
slander on the, on the VA.
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:They do…
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:I mean, I got…
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:Every time I went to a VA facility, I
had excellent care, excellent services.
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:Uh, you know, other than
a couple of aftercare, uh,
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:which was a debacle in Tampa.
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:It was one of the worst, and I, I don't,
I, I hate to talk about the aftercare
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:sometimes because it, it just…
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:It was, it was terrible.
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:I mean, I called my sister and Pete and
said, "Get me the fuck out of here now."
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:It was terrible and I, you know.
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:And, uh, that was a whole nother episode.
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:I, I really don't wanna talk
about the negatives of it.
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:There, it was, it was
just a bad experience.
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:So, you know, the doctor says,
"We'll, we'll, we'll, you know, we'll
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:do the chemo and do the radiation.
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:We'll do the PET scans and we'll see where
you are, and then we'll, we'll evaluate as
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:to what we should do about the surgery."
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:And when she told me she was gonna
put me on an ostomy bag for the
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:rest of my life, I just went, "No."
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:So we started doing research, hospitals,
you know, all the, the, the hot, the
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:cancer centers in Tampa and all around the
country and here and there and everywhere.
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:And, um, at one point, my friend
Pete had a friend who worked for
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:a doctor at Tampa General who
specialized in, in cancer surgeries.
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:So I called and asked if I
could get an appointment.
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:Now, to try to get an appointment
in that short a period of
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:time um, is just remarkable.
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:And while I was, um, at Tampa General
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:The
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:Um, I lost my train of thought there.
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:No, back up.
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:Back up
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:I had to go through chemo and radiation,
and there was a regimen of it.
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:And, uh
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:Ah,
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:I was at Tampa General
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:And I ended up having a doctor
that we found, his name was Dr.
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:Morissette, and he specialized in a
certain colorectal cancer procedure.
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:Minimally invasive.
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:They go in and do a little cut in
your side, and then, um, go in and
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:take out the part that they need to
take out, put you on a bag for, uh,
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:so the pro- you know, so things can
heal, and then they do a reversal.
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:And I go, "Oh, okay."
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:He says, "But you gotta go through the
chemo and the radiation 'cause we wanna
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:shrink it down as much as we can."
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:So I, uh, I started chemo in August
of:
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:procedure I did at Tampa General, and
I did that until October, November,
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:I think it was, um, the chemo.
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:Yeah, I think about that long.
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:Yeah.
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:It was…
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:That, that was the
first, first phase of it.
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:And then, uh, I had radiation
therapy, uh, for weeks on weeks
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:where they come in and they zap you,
and they zap you, and they zap you.
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:You know, it's, it's targeted to,
to really, you know, get, get the
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:cancer Um, so it doesn't spread.
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:They wanted to make sure
that they had a clean view of
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:everything that was going on.
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:So, you know, doing the chemo at the chemo
center, kind of ironically it was where
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:my dad went when he had his issues years
and years before, and it was the same Dr.
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:Gandhi there that, um, took
care of him, took care of me.
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:And, uh, so I had about six cycles of,
uh, uh, cycles of whatever they do.
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:You know, again, I, I got yelled at a lot.
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:"Well, what did they do to you?
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:What…
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:" You know, you know, all I know is that,
uh, I was told that I was gonna lose
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:my hair, gonna get sick, uh, I was
gonna puke, I was gonna lose weight.
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:Um, all these nasty things could happen.
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:And they put a pump in my
left shoulder, shoulder blade.
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:That was the first procedure.
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:And I, uh, went to Seven Rivers
Hospital, the hospital that I actually
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:helped build, and I sold them that
property, and that was the first
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:time I'd ever been in that hospital.
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:My dad passed away there
at the, at Seven Rivers.
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:And, uh, so I'm in there in the prep
room, and I said to the nurse, I was
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:like, "Oh, this is my first time here.
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:Uh, you know, I helped build this thing,
and I sure hope service is really good."
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:And I kinda joked around and had some fun.
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:And I, I couldn't see at all.
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:And they said, "Well,
we're gonna shave you."
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:I go, "Oh!"
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:"No, your chest."
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:"Oh."
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:"Your shoulder blades or wherever it
is in, in your left, left or right."
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:She goes, "We're gonna do both
sides just in case the doctor picks
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:a better side to get a good vein
to put the pump in for the chemo."
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:She goes, "That way they don't
have to poke you every time
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:and hook you up with the chemo.
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:They just plug it in and you go."
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:So I said, "Okay."
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:So I, uh, passed out, went to sleep,
woke up, and I got the little pump in
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:the side of my left shoulder blade.
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:I still got it.
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:I got a ke- I kept it.
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:I asked the doctor when they took it
out, I wanted it as a souvenir, as a
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:reminder of the, uh, the severity of it.
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:I mean, they're, they're gonna be
pumping nasty shit into your body
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:that's supposed to kill the bad stuff
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:So I got the pump in, and then we set up
the appointments for the, uh, the chemo,
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:and then the radiation would come after
that or in the middle of all of that.
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:And, uh, and they were both in La Canto.
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:Luckily, they were across
the street from each other.
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:So the first time I went in, you know,
did the procedure with the chemo, and
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:the nurses were trying to tell me,
you know, "This is gonna be a little
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:painful," and this and that, and,
you know, "It's gonna be kinda…
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:You're gonna have yuckiness in
your, in your throat, and you're
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:gonna feel nauseous, and you're
gonna wanna puke, and don't worry.
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:Whatever you need to do, just do it.
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:Don't worry about it."
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:So they, uh, plugged me in,
and they started the little IV
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:drip, and it was like three,
four hours sometimes at a time.
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:And I, I think it was like two or th-
yeah, maybe three hours at a time.
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:And I was there almost every day for
the first, oh gosh, seemed like weeks.
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:And every day my sister would drive
me in, put me in there, and she'd
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:go do some shopping and come back
and pick me up later, or somebody
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:else would bring me there, Peter.
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:Excuse me.
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:And you just sit there, and you
just sit there, and you sit there,
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:and you listen to conversations.
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:And I, I gotta think about it.
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:At that time too, I still couldn't see.
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:I was, I was still blinded from the,
um, the botched, uh, c- uh, the botched
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:surgery from my cataracts on my left eye,
and my right eye was still kinda crappy.
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:So I'm sitting here hearing
conversations and hearing people
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:crying and asking for help and asking
for the nurse, and they were in pain.
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:And I'm sitting there
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:And I, I don't know how to
phrase this or say this.
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:I was sitting there guilty, absolute
guilt for every time I sat there.
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:I didn't lose any of my hair.
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:I lost, lost weight.
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:I didn't have any pain.
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:I didn't have any sicknesses.
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:I had no loss of appetite.
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:I didn't lose any, you know, I, I
didn't have all the, quote, "symptoms"
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:that they told me I was going to have.
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:And I don't know
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:what came over me, I sat there
and I started thinking about these
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:people and started praying for them.
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:And I'd hear conversations in the
background, people around me talking
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:or on my sides, left or right.
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:And every once in a while, I'd try to,
you know, bring up a conversation with
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:someone, and they would just be quiet or,
you know, just in their own heads trying
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:to cope with what they were going through.
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:And I'm thinking, "Wow,
this is really, really
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:Stressful for everybody.
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:Excuse me
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:I, I didn't know what to think.
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:I didn't know what to feel.
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:No one told me what to expect.
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:I mean, I'm-- they told me what to
expect, and I'm sitting there day after
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:day after day, you know, going through
the process And, and, and then some
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:days I'd get done with the chemo and
then go across the street for radiation,
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:'cause radiation was over six months and
the chemo was over six months, so they
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:kinda interchanged between each other.
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:So I'd get done with the chemo,
and I'd just jump across the street
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:and go into the radiation, and,
um, that was a whole nother animal.
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:Um, kinda interesting part, and I'll,
I'll get back to the chemo again.
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:Uh, the radiation was kinda interesting.
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:When you went in, they…
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:The first time you go in to meet
with the, uh, doctor and the, and the
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:staff, they do a casting of your feet.
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:And I go, "Why are you casting my feet?"
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:She goes, "This way when we put
you on the table, you're in the
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:same position every single time.
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:'Cause if you wear different shoes or
socks or something like that, we just
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:take your shoes off, put your feet d- you
know, your feet with your socks into these
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:casts, and we put it on our system so that
it, it, it lines up exactly the same place
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:every time so that we don't have to worry
about we're not zapping the right places."
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:And I go, "Wow, that's pretty cool."
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:So I had my own private cast.
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:I tried to get 'em to give 'em
to me after they were done.
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:They didn't do it.
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:But I did get, you know, some
other things in, in exchange.
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:So you're lying there in this big old
machine and, and again, I can't see.
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:I have no vision.
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:And I could hear the thump,
thump, thump, thump, thump, thump,
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:thump, thump, thump, thump, thump.
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:I mean, it's just, you know,
taking pictures like crazy
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:and doing its radiation thing.
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:And they have music in the background.
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:And she goes, "Well, what do you like?"
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:I said, "Well, I like, you know, early
rock, you know, '60s, '70s, '80s."
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:So in the background, you know, they had
a rock station, and I'd listen to music.
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:And about, I don't know, three, four
days into it, I picked up a rhythm
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:that, um, a song would start, and
usually it would start, yeah, pretty
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:close to when they started the zapper.
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:And I'd listen to the songs, and
the zapper would, you know, do its
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:thing, and it had its positions it was
gonna shoot for, and it moves here,
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:moves there, moves here, moves there.
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:You know, it's constantly in motion, and
it's, it's, it's strategically set up to,
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:you know, to, to zap at certain areas.
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:And, uh, I, I got to the point where
I knew about when it was gonna end.
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:It was a four-song
zapping system or session.
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:Uh, songs back then were, like, three
minutes and 20 seconds, you know,
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:plus or minus, uh, uh, a little bit.
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:So three, six, nine, 12.
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:So I figured 12 to maybe 15
minutes I'd be on the table.
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:So when the song started,
I'd listen to the music.
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:I knew that when we got to the fourth
song, we about almost about done.
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:I got pretty good at it, and the
nurse goes, "How do you know that?"
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:I said, "I just listen to the music."
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:Uh, the music was in my head
the whole time I was there.
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:You know, I didn't hear the, uh, the,
uh- the, uh, zapper just going nuts.
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:I mean, you know.
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:I mean, it's radioactive stuff, dude.
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:You know, it, it's, it's…
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:I don't know how to explain it, but you
c- you can hear it, and it's basically
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:targeted at my prostate to kill whatever
this thing was that was in me growing.
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:And, uh, it was really funny 'cause it
happened around Halloween, and I said
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:to my sister, "I'm going in black."
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:She goes, "What?"
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:"I'm gonna wear all black."
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:So I walked in as, as the, the picture of
death, and the staff just kinda looked at
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:me, and I, I just got them all to laugh.
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:I said, "Look, I wanna thank all of you
for your support, your help, you know,
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:your kindness, y- you know, a- and, and
the patients there that, you know, were
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:going through the same procedures."
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:And, uh, that was an experience that,
again, I was, I was fortunate enough to
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:have, uh, a stage II, and the doctor,
both-- all the doctors decided they
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:were gonna treat it as a stage III.
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:They were gonna be a
little more aggressive.
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:They thought with my health the way it
was, uh, that I didn't have any other
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:preexisting conditions, that my body
could take the chemo, and the radiation,
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:and the surgeries, you know, without
a lot of, um, w- with a lot of issues.
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:So,
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:we got through with the radiation,
and then the chemo was still going on.
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:And then, um, the next
phase was to meet with Dr.
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:Morsette at Tampa General.
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:He developed this robotic system
called da Vinci, I guess it's called.
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:It was a assisted laparoscopic
resectioning of the lower,
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:uh, part of my colon.
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:I mean, he, he designed
and developed this system.
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:And thank God for Pete and his, uh,
somebody in his family knew the doctor.
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:We called on a Monday.
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:We were in his office by Friday
353
:And, um, he said, "Yep, here's what
we're gonna do, how we're gonna do it."
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:And they scheduled me for surgery.
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:And, uh
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:Um, that was it.
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:I mean, we did the surgery
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:at Tampa General
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:Now, I'm, I'm, um
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:blinded because of the botched cataract
surgery in the last episode, so I
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:can't really see what's going on.
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:So Dr.
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:Morsette come to see me in the
room after the procedure, and
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:he asked me how I was doing.
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:I said, "I'm doing great, thank you."
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:And he goes, "Let me ask
you about your eyes."
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:I go-- I told him about my eyesight,
you know, I was having issues with,
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:you know, my vision and everything.
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:And he goes, "Really?
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:Okay, let me see if I can do something."
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:Lo and behold, the next day, if you
remember the last episode, three
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:doctors from his eye clinic show up in
my room looking at my eye, examining
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:it, while I'm just finishing a surgery
for my colon, which my rectal surgery.
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:And I was like, "Wow, this is amazing.
375
:What a great staff of people here who,
you know, listen to the patient and-
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:Don't treat you just like a number.
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:Now, don't get me wrong, I've had
blood drawn probably in the last
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:six years 500 times, at least.
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:Minimum 500 times I've been
poked, and I can tell you a
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:good poker versus a bad poker.
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:Well, this dude came in, I
guess that night or the first
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:night of this after the surgery.
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:He was either in a hurry or
whatever was going on in his head,
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:and he poked me so hard it hurt.
385
:I said, "You get the fuck away from me.
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:Don't even come near me."
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:I don't know what he did.
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:He, he hit a nerve in my arm.
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:He was in a hurry, and I said, "Don't
you ever come back here again."
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:And they got someone
else to, to finish up.
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:And, you know, I, uh, most of
the m- I, I gotta say 99.98%
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:of all the doctors and nurses,
the assistants, the tech people,
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:great, great patient individuals.
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:Um, you know, especially when you're
sitting in that chemo room and the
395
:nurses are walking around checking
on everybody, making sure that, you
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:know, they're, they're all doing well.
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:And the doctor at Tampa
General, you know, Dr.
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:Morrissette would send the eye doctors
into my room to talk to me about my
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:eye situation, um, and, you know,
with the cornea transplant, which
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:was discussed briefly but not even
brought on the table yet because I had
401
:so many other things to worry about.
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:They just wanted to get a cataract
surgery done on my other eye, my
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:right eye, and then they were gonna
address the left eye, which we talked
404
:about on the, on the last episode.
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:But, you know, this all ties in together.
406
:You know, you, you've got…
407
:And I tried to segregate these
procedures in, in, you know, their
408
:own whole, but you know what?
409
:They were dynamic.
410
:They were all intertwined between
the blindness, the cancer, my hips.
411
:Um, it was just, phew, a lot, a lot to
take in in such a short period of time.
412
:So I would say the last, you know,
five plus years since, uh, August
413
:2020 till August 2026, you're
hearing it here l- live, uh, uh,
414
:uh, my cancer is in remission.
415
:I had a scan done, uh,
a couple of months ago.
416
:Go back again in, in six
months, and then it's annual.
417
:Had my annual for the VA, and I got a
couple issues with some things, but most
418
:of the things have been pretty good.
419
:So the cancer is in remission, uh, no,
no further spots or anything like that.
420
:Um, oh, excuse me.
421
:Damn.
422
:Um, my right eye is working good.
423
:My left eye is even better.
424
:Got a new lens, better lens, sharper lens.
425
:But, you know, the cancer was
really one of those awakenings
426
:You hear about it, you know, and
people talk about it, and you see
427
:it on, on TV and, and in the news,
and and you wonder, "God, how?"
428
:But you know
429
:Ja
430
:I, I don't know what I
would've done differently
431
:I knew that I wasn't going to take lying
down the first opinion from the VA that
432
:they just were gonna, you know, cut me
open after they zapped me and put me
433
:on a bag for the rest of my life, that
there were other choices out there.
434
:You gotta be an advocate for yourself.
435
:And, and some people go, "Well,
you know, why are you doing…"
436
:And I, I got that from
my, some family members.
437
:"Why are you doing this?
438
:Why you, why you?"
439
:I said, "Because I want to.
440
:I wanna know what my choices are.
441
:I wanna know if there
is another alternative.
442
:If there is, let's go for it."
443
:I mean, there is absolutely
no reason not to do it, and
444
:I, um, I gotta say that
445
:It was hard.
446
:It was very hard
447
:Going through these procedures alone.
448
:Yeah, I had family around and
friends, but you're alone.
449
:You're in the room by yourself
450
:But not by yourself.
451
:You're in a room with 30, 40 people
getting chemo and radiation treatments
452
:and, and you know what they're
going through, some worse than you.
453
:Uh, I actually was at chemo one
day and a friend of mine's wife was
454
:there in the lobby and I d- hadn't
seen him 'cause I couldn't see.
455
:He came over and he said hello.
456
:I hadn't seen him in years.
457
:And, uh,
458
:you just don't know
459
:what you're gonna do, how you're
gonna respond, how you're gonna react.
460
:I, I didn't know what to expect.
461
:I was
462
:Scared shitless.
463
:No pun
464
:Uh, relationship that had gone
south a couple years before.
465
:So there was really no one close
in my life other than family
466
:And in the interim of all of this,
that brief period when I had my
467
:vision and I was still working at
the mall doing some stuff, I, uh, was
468
:on a dating site and I met someone.
469
:Now this was at between the eye
surgery and getting my sight back
470
:and then just before I lost my
sight again about four years ago
471
:I met someone on Facebook
472
:And, uh, I don't know what, what
sparked me to her, what caught my
473
:attention, but she had a pretty smile.
474
:And I said hello, and she said hello.
475
:And I go, "Oh, okay.
476
:That works.
477
:So we're gonna talk maybe?"
478
:And, you know, I
479
:I, I didn't know
480
:How to tell her that I was going
through all of this stuff at this time
481
:And this was like May of '22
482
:Still have my vision just briefly
483
:And, uh
484
:I was finishing up my, uh,
radiation in, in '22, I think.
485
:Yeah, it was '22.
486
:May of '22.
487
:And, uh,
488
:we just started talking and come
to find out she was going through
489
:some health issues at the same time.
490
:And, uh, I go, "Well, maybe
we can have some dinner."
491
:She goes, "Eh, maybe not."
492
:I go, "Huh?"
493
:She goes, "I'm in New Mexico."
494
:Oh, yeah, that's right.
495
:Uh, she was in New Mexico.
496
:So we went back and forth with
some text messages, and I said,
497
:"You know, I love texting, but, you
know, I, I'd rather talk to you."
498
:So someplace in May of 2020-- or '22,
I'm sorry, um, we started talking
499
:'cause I was finishing up my radiation
and she was asking 'cause she had been
500
:through some procedures and chemo.
501
:Um, I was still doing
the chemo part in '22
502
:And, uh, we just kinda hit it off.
503
:We hit it off.
504
:We became, uh, partners in crime.
505
:She was going through her health issues,
and she was dying to get back to Florida.
506
:Her mom lived in Florida, her
sister and brother lived in Florida.
507
:So we just, you know, kept in touch and,
uh, continued on with our lives as if,
508
:uh, we'd known each other for years.
509
:More on her later.
510
:So the moral to the story
511
:Get your colonoscopies
512
:Especially now that they've
dropped the age down.
513
:I think it was like 50, now it's like 45.
514
:You know?
515
:Yeah, it's a little intrusive.
516
:It's a little, you know,
pain in the butt-ish.
517
:But I think, uh, i- if, if you don't
go do it, you're gonna be sorry
518
:that you didn't do it, and there's
absolutely no reason not to go do it.
519
:And, uh
520
:Don't take the first doctor's opinion.
521
:Go out and talk to a bunch more,
see what they all say, see if it all
522
:matches up, if there's any outliers.
523
:Because look, they're
only, they're only human.
524
:They can only go by, based on their
experience and their knowledge base.
525
:And had it not been for Pete and I
doing some more research into other
526
:opportunities, I would have never
had the opportunity to meet Dr.
527
:Morsette
528
:Yeah, I would have gone through
the chemo and radiation, and then
529
:the VA would've, you know, chopped
me up and put me out the door
530
:So where am I today?
531
:Well, it's been two years
532
:Uh, did my, uh, scan about,
oh gosh, six months ago maybe.
533
:Yeah, something like that, six months ago.
534
:And, you know, I've gotta, I've gotta
go in and do, uh, another scan in about
535
:three months, and then it's annuals.
536
:Um, so I'm keeping on top of it.
537
:I'm not, um, I'm not going to, uh,
play any games with any of this.
538
:Uh, it's, it's, it's very
important to me that, uh, I keep
539
:on top of my health concerns.
540
:Right now I'm pretty healthy.
541
:I've lost a shitload of weight.
542
:I was about 179, 185, I think at
one time at the highest, and now
543
:if I break 155, I'm doing good.
544
:And I eat.
545
:I just can't put on the weight
'cause it ain't staying with me.
546
:So I don't have a weight problem.
547
:I don't have a cholesterol problem.
548
:I don't have a heart problem.
549
:The only problem I have is me,
and that's the big problem, me.
550
:Everything else is fine
551
:Being, again, in that
room during the chemo
552
:Was probably one of the hardest phases
of everything that I've been through
553
:At the end of your chemo,
traditionally they ring a bell to
554
:say you're done with your chemo.
555
:And the, and the nurse asked
me, "Would you like to do that?"
556
:I go, "No, ma'am.
557
:It's not done.
558
:It's never done.
559
:It's never over."
560
:She looked at me kinda like, "Huh?"
561
:I said, "You live with this
for the rest of your life.
562
:All we can do is pray that it
doesn't rear its ugly head again."
563
:I don't wanna create a false hope.
564
:And it's not a false hope, it's, it's,
it's a great thing for people as a, as a,
565
:uh, motivator and a lifter of, of spirits.
566
:I, I don't think that way, unfortunately.
567
:I take it from the more pragmatic view
of I've gotten this far, I'm still
568
:breathing, I can still take care of
myself to some degree until my sight
569
:gets back to where it should be.
570
:I don't wanna be a burden on anyone.
571
:And it's-- It, it, it,
it opens up your life.
572
:And then to meet someone who was going
through cancer also and, and supporting
573
:her during her times that she was
dealing with, you know, her issues,
574
:and I couldn't be there to help her
a- and that was one of the hardest
575
:things, uh, to not be able to support
her during that, you know, period.
576
:And it was really funny 'cause I
got rolled into the, uh, aftercare.
577
:I was at Tampa General for the
surgery, and they asked me,
578
:"Well, where do you wanna go for
your, you know, post-op care?"
579
:I said, "Well, what are my choices?"
580
:"Well, you could be someplace
here in Tampa, or you can go back
581
:to, you know, Crystal River."
582
:So, you know, everyone's saying,
"Oh, come on back to Crystal River.
583
:We can, we can, we can come
see you and take care of you."
584
:And I go, "You're not gonna do that."
585
:So anyway, I said, "Okay, let's
go to Crystal River or Lecanto."
586
:So they put me in a rehab
center in, in Lecanto.
587
:Now, I just had colorectal cancer surgery.
588
:They put me in a freaking
wheelchair in the back of a van
589
:from Tampa General to Lecanto.
590
:They couldn't have laid me down.
591
:That would've been really nice.
592
:And I'm sitting on my ass for an hour
and a half, two hours in this van bopping
593
:down the highway, and I'm thinking to
myself, "Oh, I hope I make it to the
594
:rehab center before I gotta poop."
595
:And did.
596
:I got there, and they got
me checked into a room.
597
:I had my own room for some reason.
598
:Maybe they heard I was a pain in the ass
599
:And, uh, got me settled in, got me another
bed 'cause the bed I was in was too short.
600
:Uh, and then, uh, the food came
in, and I'm looking at this.
601
:Oh, God, this…
602
:Yeah, I, the f- Man, I, I wish they
would get into that military style food
603
:like they're doing now on the bases in
the military is, is morale of the food.
604
:I understand, you know, that they're
trying to keep people on certain diets
605
:and, and watching their intakes and all of
that, but man, this stuff was like shit.
606
:I mean, literally shit
607
:So Pete had come by one night, and
it was, um, I think around Halloween.
608
:No, not Halloween, Valentine's Day maybe.
609
:And, uh, he goes, "What's that?"
610
:I said, "Oh, Marie sent me some, some
treats and some balloons and some,
611
:some candy and donuts and stuff.
612
:And, and, uh, she got me a, a
sandwich from, um, oh God, Wendy's.
613
:A bacon burger, bacon chip- triple burger.
614
:So she ordered it, ordered
it from New Mexico for me.
615
:It was the greatest meal
I had the entire time
616
:lifted my spirits.
617
:I mean, I was, I was in the dumps.
618
:I didn't know what to expect.
619
:You know, here I am, just had
colorectal cancer surgery.
620
:I got a bag on me.
621
:I don't know how to use it.
622
:I can't see it to really speak of.
623
:You know, and they
expect you to change it.
624
:Well, luckily, the nurses and the aides
there were great about it and helped me
625
:out with it, and had no issues with it.
626
:I had only one issue the
entire time I had it.
627
:I, I, I didn't get it clipped
correctly, and luckily I was in the
628
:toilet, so it didn't make a mess.
629
:But wow
630
:You really don't know
631
:What each day is gonna be like.
632
:It was, it was a crapshoot.
633
:I, I stayed in rehab, um, as long as
I could 'cause I didn't wanna put a
634
:burden on my sister for getting around,
going to the bathroom, feeding myself.
635
:So I built my strength back up and
they were taking me into the, uh,
636
:exercise room and I'd, I'd fight 'em
on it because I also had a bad hip.
637
:Now that's the next phase is the hip.
638
:Well, my right hip is crapped out
and they're putting me on these
639
:treadmill machines and stuff.
640
:I said, "Look, I can't really do it.
641
:My hip is killing me.
642
:Plus, you know, the surgery
and you're wanting me to walk.
643
:All right, I'll walk."
644
:So they get me a walker and I just sprint.
645
:She goes, "Slow down."
646
:I said, "I don't walk slow, I sprint.
647
:I don't sit in here and
dilly-dally around the room.
648
:Let's just go.
649
:If we gotta walk, let's go walk."
650
:So got through that whole therapy
part, got home and rearranged my
651
:bedroom so that I could make use of,
you know, the potty correctly and had
652
:my s- stuff there and the nurses would
come in and check on me every day.
653
:And then they, they had therapists come
in and start working on the therapy.
654
:Even though my right leg, my right
hip was crapped out, we worked around
655
:it so I could rehab and, and build
up my strength and food sources.
656
:And you know, it was a stress.
657
:I mean, my poor sister was trying
to deal with her fam- her issues,
658
:which her health, she had health
issues too at the time, and family.
659
:And here I am, you know, blind,
can't drive, can't eat correctly.
660
:I, I had bad meal habits,
you know, it was just…
661
:It was tough.
662
:And then I had therapy
at home, which was good.
663
:And then, you know, with the
appointments it was back to Tampa.
664
:Whenever I had to go to see Dr.
665
:Morsette it was down in Tampa, so you
know, it was another hour and a half
666
:drive down and an hour and a half back.
667
:And you know, there were a couple
times where Pete drove down and, uh,
668
:I can recall one time coming home, my
sister was in the front, Pete was in
669
:the front and we were driving back to
Crystal River and it started raining.
670
:I mean, it rained so hard that
I could actually see out the
671
:windshield that was blocked.
672
:I mean it was that, I mean it was
thick and scaring the crap out
673
:of me 'cause Pete's freaking out
over the, over the we- weather.
674
:And it was nasty.
675
:It w- it, it came down hard and heavy,
but we got through it and got home
676
:But, you know, all those follow-up
appointments, you know, back and forth
677
:to Tampa, um, with the, uh, you know,
the cataract surgery and then the,
678
:the colon cancer or the rectal cancer
surgery, you know, the procedures for
679
:going back and forth to Tampa there.
680
:You know, you know, um, I got to the point
where I could, I could drive to Tampa
681
:from Crystal River to Tampa General blind.
682
:I knew exactly where we
were on the expressway.
683
:I knew where we were in Tampa.
684
:I could feel the road, and I knew what
part of the road we were on and where we
685
:were in conjunction to the location of
either the hospital or the clinics, either
686
:at Tampa General downtown or the one on
the campus there at, uh, University of,
687
:of Flor- um, not University of Florida.
688
:Uh, uh,
689
:whatever it's called
690
:And it was, um, it was trying.
691
:Uh, I gotta say that I, I, you know,
uh, it was a burden on a bunch of
692
:people, and I, I deeply appreciate
every single one of them that, that
693
:gave their time to, to take me places.
694
:Had I not had not…
695
:You know, had I had my sight, it
would've been a different story.
696
:I could have drove myself
to chemo and radiation.
697
:I wasn't incapacitated.
698
:I had my faculties.
699
:You know, if had it not been for, you
know, the blindness part, which is kinda
700
:critical, I would've been able to drive.
701
:I, I know I would've been able to drive
'cause I know I came out of the chemo and
702
:radiation not feeling sick, so I, I know
I could have driven myself to most of
703
:those appointments to Tampa, other than
for my surgery appointments when they
704
:did the, uh, the procedures on my eyes
705
:You, you really, you really don't know
706
:How much pain you can put up with
707
:You really don't know
708
:I'm looking at some notes
here of the cornea transplant.
709
:Holy moly
710
:They put in 12 additional stitches to
hold my cornea in the, in the post bed.
711
:Like I said yesterday or the day before
on my other podcast about the, the
712
:eyesight and the cornea, I just thank
God for that person, for their eyesight
713
:As far as the cancer is concerned, there's
all kinds of cancers out there now.
714
:Uh, there's a cancer for everything.
715
:It's like, you know, spin the
wheel, they got a new one.
716
:Thank goodness that there are people
out there who, uh, specialize in
717
:how to help diagnose that type of
718
:Trauma.
719
:And it is a trauma to your system.
720
:It's a trauma to your psyche
721
:But I think with all these PET scans
that have been completed and I've gone
722
:through clear, uh, there's a good chance
that everything's good, uh, for the
723
:rest of my life, whatever that time is.
724
:Could be a day, week,
month, years, seconds
725
:I, I just wanna really reiterate,
re-thank a lot of people.
726
:There's so many
727
:who were there, put up
with some of my shit.
728
:I understand.
729
:Sometimes, again, I've said
this before, I'm not the easiest
730
:person to get along with.
731
:But I, I, like I said, a
friend of mine made a comment.
732
:She, she said, "You've, you've
really mellowed out these
733
:last three, four years."
734
:And she was going through some stuff
in her life too that, you know, she
735
:died on the, the table twice during
procedures that she had done to her
736
:in Tampa, I mean, in, in Sarasota.
737
:I'm trying to get her to tell
her story, and that probably will
738
:be in one of my other episodes.
739
:We're gonna share some stuff and,
and I want her to tell her story
740
:of, of how she survived some of
the things that she went through.
741
:And my other sweetie from, uh, New
Mexico talking about her trials and
742
:tribulations and how she survived.
743
:You know, we all survived for a reason
744
:And we don't know what it is yet.
745
:We will probably never know what
it is or why we're still here
746
:but we weren't ready to check out
747
:So what can I leave you with?
748
:Some profound statement,
some, some worldly opinion
749
:or some worldly advice or…
750
:What, what, what is left
to be said other than
751
:All of us have a number of mounted days.
752
:We don't know when expiration date comes.
753
:It's not stamped on our foot
754
:We all have days that are
great, some not so great.
755
:We have people who come into our
lives again and people who leave
756
:Whatever state you're in now, if you've
gone through all of this and would
757
:like to share it, someone said to
me, "Why don't you start doing that?
758
:Make this, you know, something where
people can talk about the experiences."
759
:Because a lot of times people don't wanna
talk about it, and I understand that.
760
:I'll talk about anything
761
:A lot of people don't
wanna share their personal
762
:stories.
763
:They don't think it's important
for people are gonna…
764
:Look, I'm not doing this for
grandeur or hits on my site.
765
:I'm doing it because right now it's
helping me get through some difficult
766
:times, 'cause I know things are getting
better and better and better each day
767
:This Saturday or Sunday, the 9th of
August, I'm gonna be 76 years old.
768
:When this all started, I was 70.
769
:I know guys my age that I've run into at
the American Legion, VFWs, you know, and
770
:we'll sit and talk, and I'll, I'll look
at them and I'll say, "How old are you?"
771
:And they'll tell me,
you know, "70, 71, 72."
772
:And I go, "Whoa, you're just a youngster."
773
:They go, "No, I'm 76 years old,
75 years old, 74 years old."
774
:I go, "What?"
775
:Yeah.
776
:Part of it is your mental attitude.
777
:I am sitting here behind
this microphone in my studio
778
:this last week with a mission
to get these stories recorded.
779
:And then I'm going to be adding
other stories of other individuals
780
:who have been through the similar
circumstances if they wanna talk
781
:I've said it before, if it just helps
just one person get through a difficult
782
:time, helps one person see that this
isn't the end, it's just a new beginning
783
:Ja ja.
784
:I think I'm just gonna end it here.
785
:Uh, it's becomes a little overwhelming
at moments when I start thinking about
786
:all the people who I've met along the
way who were impacted at some point
787
:I just wanna make sure that
788
:I do them honor by praying
for them, thinking about them.
789
:And all those people tomorrow
who are gonna be diagnosed with
790
:something, who are gonna be going
down the same path of uncertainty,
791
:not knowing what's gonna happen next
792
:There's a reason why I'm doing this.
793
:God hasn't told me what it is yet.
794
:I didn't get a memo.
795
:There is definitely a reason
for all of this happening
796
:And with that, I wanna say
thank you for listening.
797
:Thank you for letting me share my story.
798
:And if you have your story you'd
like to share, I'd like the
799
:opportunity to help you express it.
800
:Again, this is Vinny DiRosa.
801
:God bless you
