Episode 116

2020-2026 AUGUST 9 NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD MAKE IT FROM THE DARKNESS

Published on: 3rd August, 2026

Transcript
Speaker:

This was gonna start out as a

audio-video, but it's just gonna be audio.

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I, I'm not ready for the video part yet.

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But anyway, this is Cousin Vinny on

the Cousin Vinny Network, AKA Vinny

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DeRosa, and I wanna take you down the

road of life, how things in an instant

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can change your entire prospectus

on what's going on in the world.

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I'm gonna take you back

th,:

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I was in St.

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Petersburg celebrating my 70th birthday

after a, uh, relationship that went

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south and, uh, just figuring out

what I wanted to do when I grow up.

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So I felt most comfortable being in St.

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Pete, the Clearwater area, for a few days.

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Contacted a friend of mine who

I went to high school with,

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and she lived down there.

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We met up, went out to dinner, had

some great meal, great entertainment.

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Uh, got a free meal at a

restaurant in downtown St.

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Pete because it was my birthday

and they didn't believe it.

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I thought you only get a dessert,

but they gave us a full meal.

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And it was right there at the, the

COVID craze going on, and people

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were just really, really weird.

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Uh, I never understood that whole thing.

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Well, I understood it.

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It was, it was all

political, unfortunately.

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It was a way to, uh, to really disrupt the

entire global economy We've come through

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it, we survived, and things are changing.

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So back to, um, the, uh, party in St.

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Pete.

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Great time, great food, great hotel.

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Making some decisions as to whether or

not I was gonna move back there or not.

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It was hard on my head, uh,

and my heart about going back.

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I felt comfortable there.

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So I was doing an evaluation

as to whether or not it was

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worth the time and the energy.

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So coming back, I knew I had to go

renew my driver's license, so I went

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to the DMV that Monday, and lo and

behold, because of my age, they give

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you a spot eye test just to make

sure that you still have your vision.

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And at the time, I was still

wearing glasses, uh, not really

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strong ones, but, you know, okay.

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And, um, went in , and the lady

says, "All right, let's do the test."

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So I do the test, and I fail.

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I failed the eye test.

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You talk about devastating.

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I said, "What are my choices?"

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She goes, "Well, we'll give you 30 days

to come back with a, uh, a, a certificate

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or a letter from the doctor saying

that your eyesight has been corrected,

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and, uh, you'll give your back…

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You'll, you know, you'll,

your license will renew, but

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we're gonna give you 30 days."

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So scrambling out of there, trying to

find a doctor that would see me within

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30 days was almost virtually impossible.

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Uh, really hard to do.

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Uh, and, uh, time was

coming up on the 30 days.

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Didn't find another doctor.

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Went back to DMV.

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They gave me another extension.

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So I went from August to September,

to September to October, October

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to November, three extensions.

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At the third one, it was

either November or December.

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I'm trying to put all these dates

in my head, and God, when I get

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done with this, you're gonna go,

"How do you remember all this?"

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Well, I didn't.

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I, I, I, I tried to go back to the

calendars and try to sync up calendars,

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and it was just becoming too, too, too

cumbersome, so I'm going from memory.

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And, uh, so I went back the third time.

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They said, "Sorry."

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She took my driver's license,

and they don't cut it.

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They pop a hole in the middle of it.

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Somewhere in a certain strategic

location, there's a hole in it so that

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if you got stopped with it, uh, the

police would know that your license

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was not valid, even though it expired

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So got home, told my sister what was

going on, and we started scrambling

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to try to find, uh, a doctor.

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So I called the VA, went into, uh,

the VA doctor and, uh, I think it

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was at, uh, uh, in the Villages.

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Met with the doctor there.

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He looked at it, says, "Yeah,

uh, you caught cataract.

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Uh, you're gonna have to have it removed.

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Uh, we can set up a schedule,

you, you know, for surgery."

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And I go, "Great."

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So, uh, and it was during COVID and

when all the craziness was going on.

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So I got scheduled for the cataract

surgery with a local doctor in Crystal

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River who, uh, had his facilities

there in Lecanto where they do the,

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uh, they do day surgery type stuff.

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So it was gonna be, you know, in

and out, get it done, and great.

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Excellent.

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I'll get, you know, new cataract, new

lens, you know, and they measured me

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for the lens and all that good stuff.

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And went in for the surgery that morning.

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Millie had drove me.

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It was during COVID and, you

know, all that crap, so she

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drove me in, uh, for the surgery.

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My sister picked me up after it, and,

you know, they got you all bandaged up

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and said, "Okay, we'll see you tomorrow."

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So next day I go into the doctor's

office and they take the bandage

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off and wow, my vision was

absolutely crystal clear and clean.

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It was, it was nothing like I've ever

seen before in my life, especially in

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that eye that was good all these years.

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It was even 10 times better.

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So I'm making calls to all my friends.

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I'm on the lanai at my sister's

house, Mom and Dad's old home.

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And I'm making calls to people,

you know, just, you know, giving

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them updates as to what was going

on and how I felt and great.

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So two, three days, excellent.

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Excellent.

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Then all of a sudden,

everything went to shit.

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My eye started getting blurry.

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I couldn't focus, couldn't see, and I

hadn't got an appointment yet back to

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see the doctor 'cause it was a couple…

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It was like a week after the, uh, surgery.

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So I go in and go, "Uh, what's going on?"

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"Oh, it's gotta heal.

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It's gotta heal."

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"Okay.

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Uh, that's not what I've seen before

online as to, you know, healing time."

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And again, you know, everything

online is not always the, the fact.

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So let it heal.

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Let it heal.

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Okay, so we let it heal.

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Go back in about a week

later, looks at it.

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"Yep, still gotta heal.

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Uh, let's put these drops."

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Okay, we put drops in.

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I was on a regimen of four or five

different drops at a time, putting

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in these drops in my eye, nothing.

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He goes, "Okay, we'll

get a medicated lens."

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So they put a contact lens in there,

so there was medication on it.

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And that went on for another month.

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So now we're, you know, two months after

surgery, and we're into the new year,

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and I'm going, "Okay, now it's 2021.

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Uh, is this gonna get any better?"

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And this went on for almost four

and a half, five months of this

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bullshit from this doctor just not

paying attention to what I had.

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I had an issue in my eye.

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I had the shingles in my eye back in the

:

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And someone had seen it in an

exam years ago and made a comment

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about it, but that was it.

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Well, when, uh, excuse me.

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When they did the cataract surgery,

exposed it, so the shingles

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decided to rear its ugly head.

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And the doctor in Crystal

River totally misdiagnosed.

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I mean, totally and

completely just missed it.

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So I'm getting frustrated.

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I'm getting frustrated,

getting frustrated.

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And, um, at that time, I was due

for my colonoscopy at the VA, but

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I blew it off because my vision

was the most important thing to me.

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So I ended up with another doctor

up in Gainesville at the University

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of Florida and, uh, went in, they

looked at it, they treated it.

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They said, "You know, we really

can see that there's scar tissue

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on the, on the lens, and we think

that we can, you know, salvage it."

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And I said, "Great."

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He said, "You got the, you got

the cataract surgery, so you

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got the new cataract in there

and everything, so you know…

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I mean, the new lens in there

and everything, so that's good.

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So let's see if we can fix it."

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So they put me on antibiotics.

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I think it was a couple weeks later,

I went back up to Gainesville, and the

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doctor says, "Okay, the procedure is this.

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We're gonna prop your eyelid open.

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This is all gonna be local anesthesia.

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We're not gonna put you under, and

we're gonna prop your eye open, and

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we're gonna scrape your eyeball."

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I go, "What?"

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"Yeah, we're gonna scrape your eyeball,

and we're gonna get all that gunk off

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of it, and hopefully that will fix it."

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Excuse me.

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When I, when I start coughing

like this, it's stress.

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It's, it's not, uh, a

sickness, it's a stress cough.

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I, I get stressed.

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You can tell when I'm

stressed, I start coughing.

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It's a bad tell.

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So doctor…

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Oh, God, what was it?

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God, I had so many doctors.

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Wonderful lady.

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Um, she came in, looked at me.

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She goes, "Yep.

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All right, now here's what we're gonna do.

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We're gonna numb you up, put

you in the chair, don't move,

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and we'll take care of it."

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So I'm sitting there in the chair,

not moving as instructed, and I can

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see this blade coming towards my eye.

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I mean, I can see it, and I can

see it going across my, my vision.

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Up and down, left and right,

up and down, left and right,

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up and down, left and right.

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And she goes, "Okay, now

just let's blink blink."

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So I blink blinked a couple of times.

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She put some drops in.

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I sat up.

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She goes, "Okay, let's keep your

eyes closed for a few minutes."

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So I sat there in the chair quietly,

patiently, excuse me, waiting

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for her to give me the okay.

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So I open up my eyes and she goes, "What?"

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I go, "Oh, fuck.

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I can see you, doc."

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She goes, "Yay, we gotcha."

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And I was elated.

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I was thrilled beyond belief.

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She goes, "Okay, we got you on this

medication to keep everything, you know,

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from getting infected and all that stuff."

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And I said, "Great."

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And, uh, I said, "I need to

get my driver's license back."

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And she goes, "Okay, where's the form?"

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So she signed the form that

I was, you know, capable.

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She goes, "But give it a week."

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So I gave it a week.

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I didn't jump in and go get

my driver's license at DMV.

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We went back for the post-op

and she goes, "Looks good.

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Looks clear.

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Go ahead.

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You can go do that."

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And I was trying to put the

calendar together, dates and times,

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and, you know, it's irrelevant.

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It all happened in the last six years

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So I go into DMV, and I hand her my

paperwork, and she goes, "Oh, well, you

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know, you gotta retake the driver's test."

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I go, "The driving part

or the written part?"

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She goes, "No, the written part."

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She goes, "You wanna study for it?"

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I go, "No, just give it to me right now."

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So after all the trauma of the

surgery and getting my vision back,

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I'm sitting in DMV, the first time

I've had to go retake the test since

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I was 15 years old back in 1965.

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And I'm going, "Well, I'm

not gonna pass this thing."

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So I sat there.

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And, you know, you answer the

question, it goes to the next one.

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Answer the question, it goes to

the next one, on and on and on.

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And I got done with all the questions.

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And I'm sitting there patiently.

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Goes, "Well, we're gonna review

it and make sure, you know,

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it's valid," and all that crap.

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And when I was sitting there

taking the test, there was a young

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man next to me going, "Oh, shit.

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Oh, shit.

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Oh, shit."

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He was just freaking

out about the questions.

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And I'm going, "Didn't you study?"

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Now, granted, I didn't even open a book.

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I, I just figured,

well, I'm gonna SWAG it.

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You know what that means,

scientific wild-ass guess.

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And part of it's from driving

all these years, so at least

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I think I have some knowledge.

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So I got back into the room there.

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She goes, "You passed."

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I go, "I did?"

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She goes, "Yeah.

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You got most of it right.

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You know what I mean?

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You got enough to pass, but you had

a bunch more right, and you're good."

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So they gave me back my driver's license.

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So I'm thinking, "Wow, that's one more

hurdle out of the, out of the way.

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You know, the driver's license is back.

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Now what else could happen?"

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Well, I'm gonna blend in some

things here, and then I'm gonna

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talk about it in more detail.

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Well, I, uh, postponed

getting a colonoscopy

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So I had to make an appointment

to go get a colonoscopy.

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And, uh, the VA set it up at Tampa…

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Not Tampa Palms, Tampa,

uh, the one in Tampa.

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I can't think of the name of it now.

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But it wasn't Tampa Pi- it wasn't Bay

Pines in, in Pinellas where I had gone

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the first time m- many years before.

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So I'm in Tampa at the VA.

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It was around my birthday.

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And, um, my vision was okay.

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It was still kinda fuzzy, but it was okay

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And, uh, there was a young man

in the bed next to me who had

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been in Iraq and just tough time

for the young guy, really tough.

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So we had a long night conversation, and

I was on the fasting thing 'cause I had

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to go get my colonoscopy the next day.

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And now, at that time, I had vision.

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I mean, it was back.

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It was not strong, but it was good.

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It was enough for me to get, you

know, to see, but not great vision

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Um, because months before that,

the scar tissue redeveloped in

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my eye and it blurred me out.

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So I couldn't really--

couldn't drive again.

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I had my vision back for about

seven, eight months, nine

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months, something like that.

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And, uh, it, it, it just

became a, a turmoil.

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So I'm gonna get back to the,

uh, eyesight again in a moment.

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So I go in for my colonoscopy

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And, uh, I'm gonna cover that in

part two, in the colonoscopy part.

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All right, so now we're fast-forwarding

past the colonoscopy and the

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botched up diagnosis on that one.

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Um, in the interim, I'm having issues

with my eyesight, so I got tired

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of being dealt with incompetent

local doctors, and then the VA sent

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me to, um, a specialist in Tampa

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And, uh, Dr.

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España, I can remember some of the

doctors' names, not all of them, went

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in with, with, you know, the issue of my

eyesight, my left eye, my right eye, and

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all that, and he suggested that we do

a, uh, cataract surgery on my right eye.

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I said, "Okay, let's do that."

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So they did a cataract surgery on me.

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Now, at this time still, I'm still

dealing with my other issues from the

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colonoscopy, which I'm gonna talk about

in depth on the next bit, next podcast

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And they take me in to the

prep room before the procedure.

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And, you know, the day before you're

drinking all this freaking jugs

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of liquid, and that's all I had

'cause I got there that afternoon.

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Put me in a room, and they

put me on this shit before the

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night before the colonoscopy.

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And I'm not seeing anything either.

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Uh, you know, my vision was kinda

really getting worse at that point.

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So they roll me in and, uh,

give me the colonoscopy, roll

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me back out, and I can get a…

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Nurse comes up, she goes, "Mm,

they didn't like what they saw.

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We gotta do it again

tomorrow, so keep drinking."

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So again, this will be part two.

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So understand now I'm blind, can't

see, dealing with a colonoscopy that

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they gotta redo again the next morning.

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So now I'm gonna go back to

the vision part of the story.

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So I've been blinded this whole time.

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My vision's shot.

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My sister's driving me to appointments.

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Pete's driving me.

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Dwayne's driving me.

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Um, uh, Sharon drove me to

a couple of appointments.

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So, you know, the, the cancer came in

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After, uh, the colonoscopy.

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But I'm gonna go back to the

vision part a little bit.

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It's kinda hard because they all kinda

intertwine, and maybe I shouldn't.

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But I, I wanna talk about the eyesight

'cause it's, it's been the most critical

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component of my entire recovery.

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Between losing my eyesight, having

cancer, and my hips, my eyesight has

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been the biggest, biggest worry of all

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So I ended up getting another cataract

surgery done on my right eye, which was

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my bad eye, which would became my good

eye 'cause it was the only one that was

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working 'cause my left eye got fucked

up by the doctor in Crystal River.

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So they did cataract surgery on my right

eye, and to today I've got vision out of

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it, which I've never had in 70-plus years.

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I mean, I can't drive with it,

but I have enough vision that

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God forbid my left eye would not

work, at least I could get around.

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Not drive, but I could at least see

things without bumping into walls

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and feeling like a totally doofus.

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So we got that done,

and in the meantime, Dr.

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España was taking care of my left eye.

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And how I got to these doctors at Tampa

General is a whole nother story, which

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occurred during the part two version

of my story about the cancer treatment,

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and how one doctor who was trying to

fix one problem found another doctor

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to help me fix the other problem.

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Long story short, I'm in, in the

hospital bed after my surgery for

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cancer, which I'm gonna get into in

more, more depth in the next podcast.

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The doctor there had

asked me about my vision.

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I told him what was going on, and the day

after my cl- uh, cancer surgery, three

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doctors were in my room in the hospital

examining my eyes and diagnosing it.

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So long story short, the doctor who

took care of my cancer led me to

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the doctor who fixed my blindness.

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So back to the eyes.

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I know I'm bouncing around.

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I tried all kinds of logical ways

to make this flow, but I think

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each of these procedures are

s- distinct and very impactful

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So I'm going through

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the next phase of eyes

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Dr.

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Espaňa did the, like I said, the

cataract surgery on my right eye.

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Great.

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He goes, "Let me look at your left eye."

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He said, "Yep, I see the problem.

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You had shingle in your eye, and it

damaged all of the nerves and all

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this other stuff, and there's not

a whole lot we can do about this."

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Now, this was in 2024-ish

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And in between 2020 and 2024, not only did

I have my eye surgeries, but I also had

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chemo, radiation, and, and cancer surgery,

two sur- three surgeries, two surgeries.

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So it's been kinda hard to

not blend them into one, but I

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wanna talk about each individual

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procedure because they all

interchanged and integrated into

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each other at some point in time.

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Here I am with

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Poor vision

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The doctor is telling me that the

only cure to it or procedure he can

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think of is a cornea transplant.

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Now, remember, this is almost two

and a half, three, almost four

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years from the time it all started.

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I had vision for a short period

of time, and it went away, and

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then back into the darkness again.

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So this entire time, I'm relying on

other people to get me to appointments,

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to take me to Tampa, take me to

Gainesville, take me to, you know, Ocala,

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wherever it was to go to appointments.

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I couldn't drive.

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I couldn't see.

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I only had a brief window of

vision there, and I lost it.

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I thought and thought and

thought and thought, "God

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What's next?

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God doesn't give you

more than you can handle

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And at times I thought, "Man

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I, I, I've, I've-- I'm paying

for a lot of bad things.

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And it's not bad things or karma or

any other crap, it's just, just life.

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You go entire lifetime sometimes with

nothing happening, and then it all hits.

387

:

And again, when I turned 70,

everything turned to shit.

388

:

My vision was my biggest concern,

so I didn't care about the cancer,

389

:

which I'm gonna talk about.

390

:

I didn't care about my hips, how much

it hurt, because it started hurting

391

:

before all this stuff even started.

392

:

I was having trouble with my hips before

the eye surgery in, in August, or when

393

:

my vision went out in August of 2020.

394

:

I was having hip problems before that

395

:

You really, really don't know

how much you can handle until

396

:

it's been presented to you

397

:

I've said before, and I've said

this to others, your vision.

398

:

You can lose your hearing.

399

:

Okay, it's tough.

400

:

You can read sign language.

401

:

Uh, you can lose a limb.

402

:

Yeah.

403

:

You can have a heart attack.

404

:

Yeah, they can put a valve or a

pump or whatever it is, you know,

405

:

or you lose a leg or an arm.

406

:

Losing your vision of everything

that I've been involved with or

407

:

seen or been a part of or, or, uh,

was, was basically exposed to with

408

:

people around me is the toughest one.

409

:

For me it was

410

:

For me it was

411

:

You miss the beauty of

a lot of things in life.

412

:

The people around you, just the everyday

things that you take for granted when

413

:

you get up in the morning, you know, pour

that cup of coffee, look out the window

414

:

and, you know, watch the fox go through

the yard with a chicken in its mouth

415

:

It, it really, really, really

416

:

I hate to say it, gave me vision.

417

:

Gave me visions of myself, where

I was going, where I was headed.

418

:

I was on a roll.

419

:

Uh, the, the, the podcasting

was just cranking.

420

:

I was, I was doing shows, I was

doing stuff at the mall, and that's

421

:

another animal that got ripped apart.

422

:

The mall got leveled.

423

:

Maybe one day I'll talk about

the mall adventures and all

424

:

the things that occurred there.

425

:

That may be another

episode of fun and chaos.

426

:

I, um, I gotta say that

427

:

You have days where there's little

hope, little joy, and then there

428

:

are days of small accomplishments

429

:

I have to say that most of

the time I was visionless.

430

:

I tried not to, to

burden everyone with it.

431

:

I mean, obviously I couldn't

drive by braille anymore 'cause

432

:

they took my license away.

433

:

I, um, I learned to, and I, I heard this

from a few people, say that I softened up.

434

:

Yeah, right, I've softened up.

435

:

Maybe I have.

436

:

It's given me a totally

different prospectus on life

437

:

Here it is

438

:

August the 3rd

439

:

And

440

:

I'm

441

:

Able to see again

442

:

I went through

443

:

Two cataract surgeries

and a cornea transplant

444

:

The first, oh, exam, I, of, of, of, uh,

445

:

what am I trying to think of?

446

:

The first procedure was my left eye, which

was my good eye, which was now my bad eye.

447

:

You know, they did the cataract

surgery, so it blew it up,

448

:

and it went, uh, to shit.

449

:

Then we did my right eye just

to help get rid of some of

450

:

the cloudiness in the vision.

451

:

So that now to today, here in

:

452

:

in an eye that I didn't have.

453

:

Not great, but it's okay.

454

:

As for my left eye, which then

was the biggest blessing, that Dr.

455

:

España said we can do a cornea transplant.

456

:

I can remember the day

he, he said it to me.

457

:

He said, "We can do the transplant.

458

:

There's a 50/50 chance

that it won't take."

459

:

How do I know?

460

:

There was a lady in the, uh, waiting room,

461

:

and we were talking, and

she had, had it done twice.

462

:

She goes, she goes, "The first time it

lasted for about six, seven years, and

463

:

they had to come back in and do it again."

464

:

She goes, "You just don't know."

465

:

So I'm, I'm there with, I think what?

466

:

I think Pete was there, and

my sister was there that day.

467

:

So we go in, and Dr.

468

:

España says, "Danny, here is the choices.

469

:

What's your decision?"

470

:

I go, "Do it."

471

:

I didn't even, I didn't even hesitate.

472

:

I did not even hesitate for

him to do the procedure.

473

:

I said, "Look, I'm ready."

474

:

So we scheduled the appointment

475

:

And I got, I was gonna, I started doing

timelines and charts and dates, and I go,

476

:

"That's gonna be just too cumbersome."

477

:

So my right eye was healed.

478

:

It was functioning.

479

:

He says, "We're gonna do the surgery

480

:

So back to Tampa General.

481

:

I-- my sister took me and,

uh, went in for the procedure.

482

:

They have you all bandaged up, you know,

nice and tight and clean and covered, and

483

:

the next day you go in for the post-op.

484

:

He takes off the, uh, the, uh,

bandage, and just as I did in

485

:

Gainesville, I went, "Holy shit!

486

:

I can see."

487

:

And it was the c- the clearest

vision I've ever had in that eye.

488

:

I mean, ultra clear, ultra

clean, just phenomenal vision.

489

:

Phenomenal vision.

490

:

And, uh

491

:

Oh, shoot.

492

:

I didn't turn my phone off.

493

:

I'm sorry

494

:

That was bad on me.

495

:

I'm gonna turn her off now

496

:

So anyway, um, so I had the

vision back and I'm, I'm,

497

:

I'm, um

498

:

Sitting there

499

:

Thanking God and all the people

who were involved for giving

500

:

me back the gift that I lost

501

:

Uh, in the interim, well, there were

a lot of people who helped me through

502

:

a lot of days and issues and mishaps.

503

:

Um, I'm not gonna name all of them.

504

:

I thought about that, but you

know, you know who you are

505

:

There were a few that

really came close to me

506

:

And a few that have gone away

507

:

So as I hear and speak today,

uh, I went back up to, um, Dr.

508

:

España's office, and he said,

"Okay, um, you're good."

509

:

He said, uh, "I suggest that you get

a certain strength, uh, contact lens."

510

:

So he suggested that.

511

:

He says, "But you can't do a soft

lens, you have to do a hard lens."

512

:

I said, "Okay."

513

:

So they only had one specialist at that

time in Gain- in, uh, Oak- in Ta-Tampa.

514

:

Geez.

515

:

Tampa.

516

:

And I said, "You know, I'm

gonna go back up to Gainesville.

517

:

I had a good, good experience

with the doctors up there

518

:

with my glasses and stuff."

519

:

And so I went back up to Gainesville

and met with the doctor up

520

:

there, and the doctor says, "Yep,

yep, we can do the hard lens."

521

:

And you know how hard it is to find

someone that can do a hard lens

522

:

basically from Tampa to, to Gainesville?

523

:

It doesn't exist.

524

:

I mean, you talk about days

and days and days of calling

525

:

cl- you know, optometrists.

526

:

They don't do 'em.

527

:

So luckily, I got an appointment in

Gainesville, went up, they measured my

528

:

vision, and they put a temporary lens in

there to see how it would feel and do,

529

:

and I go, "Wow, that is really great."

530

:

So they, uh,

531

:

they fitted me for a contact

532

:

That was about nine months ago.

533

:

Maybe nine, 10 months ago.

534

:

Again, I'm bad on timelines.

535

:

I apologize, but the whole point of

the story is they gave me a hard lens.

536

:

Getting used to putting it

in was a task and a trip.

537

:

My eyes are really sensitive.

538

:

My eyelids are shot.

539

:

They don't stay open, so you gotta

prop them open to get it in there.

540

:

I dropped contact on the table so many

times, and I would say, "If I have to do

541

:

a tube of solution, I'm stopping after

that 'cause I'm gonna get frustrated."

542

:

And, um, um, it went well.

543

:

And then I went back for the post-op

or the post-visit on the hard lens,

544

:

and she did a re-examination on me

about, oh gosh, eight weeks ago maybe.

545

:

No, maybe three months ago maybe.

546

:

I don't remember.

547

:

It's, it's the days and times

are just floating through.

548

:

So I got back up to Gainesville.

549

:

She goes, "We're gonna try a new

lens on you, put a little more

550

:

stronger lens in there, and I think

we can get better view, vision."

551

:

So I got the new lens, popped it in.

552

:

Man, what amazing difference.

553

:

And I've gotten better

about putting the lens in.

554

:

It's been a task, you know, your,

your, your, your reflexes fight

555

:

off, you know, invasion, invasion.

556

:

So about a week and a half ago,

I'm popping in my new heavy-duty

557

:

functioning lens, 'cause I, I don't

wear it every day and I should.

558

:

And, uh, I pop it in and it, it didn't

get centered like it's supposed to.

559

:

So I took the little plunger to pull

it out, and as it came out, it hit top

560

:

of the table, and somehow it shattered.

561

:

And I'm going, "Oh my gosh,

my lens is shattered."

562

:

Well, I had the backup.

563

:

I had the lens from the previous

script that they gave me, which was

564

:

a little bit not as strong as the

one I had on, but that was fine.

565

:

So I gave it a day to kinda

calm down, think about it.

566

:

So I gave it a couple more days and I

go to put it in, and I get it in and I

567

:

stand up and it falls out, and it falls

on the floor in the kitchen and shatters.

568

:

So now here I am with glasses

I can see to get around.

569

:

I can drive okay, but I'm not

comfortable, and I just broke two lenses.

570

:

This is a week ago, and I'm basically

SOL, 'cause now I gotta get back up to

571

:

Gainesville 'cause they ordered a new lens

and the, and the company's gonna replace

572

:

that one, and I gotta bring a second

lens to them that broke also, which I'm

573

:

probably gonna end up having to pay for.

574

:

The moral to the story is…

575

:

I don't know what the

moral to the story is.

576

:

I don't think there is

a moral to this story

577

:

What I've taken away

from all of this is that

578

:

You're not given things

that you can't handle.

579

:

It may be overwhelming at

the time when it occurs.

580

:

There are other outside forces involved.

581

:

There are other circumstances that

are going on at the same time.

582

:

I could have done the woe is me, put my

head in the sand, and just not surfaced.

583

:

That's not part of my MO.

584

:

I, uh

585

:

In the last four or five weeks, redid

my studio in the second bedroom.

586

:

It's all set up for interviews, guests.

587

:

I, I got it all set up, and I started

recording some stuff the other day.

588

:

In the last couple of weeks, I've

been doing some more recordings.

589

:

This is the culmination of,

of a series of recordings.

590

:

I found some stuff that I had done

when I, when I couldn't see really

591

:

well that I had recorded unedited.

592

:

I-- and I'm not gonna edit this either.

593

:

It's coming out the way it, it went in.

594

:

But I think what, what made me

really, really appreciate life was

595

:

when you have one of your senses

taken from you, others come in and

596

:

replace some of it, not all of it.

597

:

You, you don't lose everything.

598

:

You lose a little part

599

:

But there's hope that that

little part can be fixed

600

:

I don't know if this is gonna help anyone,

hurt someone, ask questions about it.

601

:

All I know is that

602

:

God decided to do something

with me different.

603

:

I still don't know what my path is.

604

:

I kinda got a sense of what

it is and where it's going

605

:

I said that if my vision were to be gone

forever, I would have to cope with it.

606

:

And I, I was prepared for it before Dr.

607

:

Spina said we could do the cornea.

608

:

And again, there was no guarantee

that the cornea transplant

609

:

would take based on statistics.

610

:

So there was a 50/50 shot.

611

:

"Now how long will it last?"

612

:

He says, "It could last a

year, could last 10 years.

613

:

It could ra- last the rest of your life."

614

:

He goes, "It-- We don't know."

615

:

I wanna say that whoever's cornea this

was, thank you, thank you, thank you

616

:

I hope I

617

:

Carry your, your vision

well into the future.

618

:

You're the one that saw

it first before I did.

619

:

I don't wanna be the last person to see it

620

:

A lot of things have happened in

my life in the last few months.

621

:

Realization of life

622

:

Things that are good, things that are

bad, people that come into your life

623

:

that make it so much excitement and

joy, and then people you want out of

624

:

your life because they were a drain

625

:

Or hurt you in a way

that you didn't expect

626

:

If this helps anyone, I, I'm happy.

627

:

I'm, I'm-- My mission was

not to, to get a woe is me.

628

:

I don't need that.

629

:

You're gonna hear some

stories when I get into my

630

:

cancer that are even more

631

:

dramatic than this.

632

:

Not dramatic, more heartfelt.

633

:

It was a whole different

experience I didn't even know

634

:

that I could even experience

635

:

On the ninth, which is only

about, what, six, seven, seven

636

:

days away, whatever it is.

637

:

Today's the second, I think.

638

:

Whatever the day is, first or second.

639

:

Third.

640

:

This will come out on the third

641

:

So I'm doing it on the second

642

:

Just remember this

643

:

You're not alone

644

:

There are people in your life

645

:

Are there to help you.

646

:

And there are people there

sometimes that wanna hurt you

647

:

You can't do a thing about it

648

:

All you can do is live each

day as if it's your last.

649

:

And, you know, I, I, I've

taken that to so heart.

650

:

There's no guarantee of tomorrow.

651

:

When I lay my head down on the pillow

tonight, I may not wake up tomorrow.

652

:

And if I didn't, I think now with what

I'm doing these next few days, I will

653

:

have some peace, and I'll be able to

have some direction as to what next

654

:

phase of my life is gonna be like

655

:

If someone hears this

and it helps you, great.

656

:

If you'd like to call me, call me.

657

:

My number is in the podcast.

658

:

I'm not gonna put it on here

659

:

I was gonna do video, but

I had too many distractions

660

:

I'll be doing videos at some point

when we start getting into some of

661

:

the other things that I wanna do.

662

:

But right now, my, my main focus

was talking about the loss of

663

:

my sight, and not only my visual

sight, but my sight of my life.

664

:

What was important to me, things

that were important six years

665

:

ago, seven years ago, irrelevant.

666

:

You learn to focus on the things

that bring you happiness and joy.

667

:

You learn to focus on

things that can help others.

668

:

I got a friend of mine who made a

comment, oh gosh, about two years ago.

669

:

She goes, "You've gotten a lot softer.

670

:

You're not as harsh as you used to be."

671

:

Well,

672

:

sometimes you gotta be led down

the road and taught a few lessons

673

:

And what I've learned is

that God doesn't make junk

674

:

Thank you, and God bless you

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About the Podcast

Vinnie De Rosa AKA Cuzin Vinnie
CuzinVinnieNetwork.com
Welcome to the Cuzin Vinnie Network, with weekly shows that ask the question, did you know that? real estate education, real estate industry insights, food, fun, failure and maybe some future predictions with straight talk no BS.

I’m your host Vinnie De Rosa, Cuzin Vinnie your Cuzin in the Real Estate Podcast World, the podcast network that is part real estate education -oriented podcast host where you can get your career off on the right track completely free. Plus, fun stuff just to make it exciting to listen, cause you can never know what is coming out of my head and mouth.

Thank you so much for joining me on the Cuzin Vinnie Network. Remember to tell your friends that the show is available to listen to on any app that supports podcasts.

If you’re wondering what the best next step to take for your real estate future is, whether you’re a new agent or veteran agent I’ll help you to diagnose the main issue holding your growth back and give you access to me for free. YES free! You can email me at vinnie@vinniederosa.com

Contact me, Cuzin Vinnie, your personal tour guide. I look forward to helping you find things to do, a place to live or grow your business.

My cell phone is always on 888.286.2861 Contact me even if you have just a simple question at 888.286.2861

REMEMBER "YOU CAN GET EVERYTHING IN LIFE YOU WANT IF YOU WILL JUST HELP ENOUGH OTHER PEOPLE GET WHAT THEY WANT." ZIG ZIGLAR

P.S. go to my website VinnieDeRosa.com