Episode 118

2024-2026 TWO NEW HIPS WITH EXTENED WARRANTY

Published on: 7th August, 2026

Transcript
Speaker:

Hey, it's Cousin Vinny here with

the third installment of the Years

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of Darkness that started in 2020.

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Holy crapo.

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If you were listening to the other

two podcasts, the one about my, uh,

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my blindness, being blinded, uh, by

a fucked up doctor who misdiagnosed

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it for months and months and months,

and kept me in the total dark phys-

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physically and, and spiritually.

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But that is now gone.

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Uh, we're in the, um, forward stages

of that, uh, part of my healing.

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So the vision is pretty much under

control, just gotta be a little

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more careful, um, putting contact

lenses in and not crushing them by

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accident, 'cause 500 bucks a piece.

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Anyway, got that taken

care of this last week.

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So I've got my new lens in, the

new super-duper powered one.

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I, uh, ordered a backup.

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Hopefully I don't break any more of

these damn things until I go back for

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my six-month checkup to see, uh, how

things are going with the eyeballs.

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So eyes are in good shape.

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My right eye is doing well.

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It's doing as best as it ever

done in, in 60, 70 years.

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So on the eyesight,

uh, good, good results.

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Cancer, gone, in remission.

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That too is in, uh, the maintenance

stages now of just, uh, going in

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for scans every six months or so.

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I think I've got another one coming up

in a couple months, and then we go to,

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uh, biannual and then annual after that.

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But, uh, all my blood has been good.

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Um, no, um, no other

issues with, with that.

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That, that's excuse me, pretty

much- Taken care of, which, ooh,

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that was a, that was a big one.

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Um, you know, the cancer with, with

the diagnosis and the surgeries

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and, uh, the, the therapies and

the, the, the aftercare and wow.

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And, and now getting used to the,

the way my body system now works.

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It's not like normal p- folks,

but it could've been worse.

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I could've been on a bag

for the rest of my life.

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So now I just gotta think about, you

know, what I'm doing before I go do it

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and make sure I prepare for it correctly.

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You know, it's, it's…

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Excuse me.

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Man, what is it?

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Every time I get behind a mic

lately, I get these hacking coughs.

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I think it's a nerve thing.

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I haven't been behind a mic in, in years,

and, uh, I think part of it is just the,

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the stress factor of, of doing this again.

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Um, I, I've, I've never been shy

about, you know, getting behind a mic

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and talking, and I'm still not shy.

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It's just that, um, occasionally I guess,

uh, it's, it's a nerve thing, I think.

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It's a, it's a nervous hack

more than anything else.

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So cancer, check.

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Um, you know, if you heard my last

episode on that, uh, that was just, uh…

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It was a drain.

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It was a mental and physical drain

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Uh, there are thousands of people

go through it every single day,

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and I pray for all of them.

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Uh, I, I, I know what they're going

through, but you really don't know

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what someone's going through unless

you've been in that position.

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And, uh, I can appreciate all the

people that, you know, participated

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and helped, all the, all the medical

people and my personal friends.

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It's, it's, it's just very, very,

um, stressful Not only on the

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body, but the mind and your soul.

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You know, there are

people who just give up.

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They, they just can't take it, and

they let their, uh, systems go down,

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the immune systems go down, and,

and it, and it just takes them out.

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And I keep on thinking and keep

on saying that, you know, God has

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other reasons for me to be here.

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Um, you know, I, I'm, I'm not feeling

like I was a chosen person, but I

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just think that there's a purpose

in my life, meaning and purpose.

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Still hadn't figured out what it is.

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I think with doing these podcasts

now, I'm gonna try to go to

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two a week now after this.

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After my birthday on the ninth,

I'm gonna go to two a week,

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probably Tuesdays and, and Fridays.

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Um, maybe try to do a live

one occasionally in between

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someplace, one of those two.

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But a Tuesday will be kinda

like a, you know, Taco Tuesday

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type thing, uh, just fun stuff.

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And then Fridays, it's gonna be more

professional, uh, dealing with the real

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estate industry and my profession that

I've been doing for the last 50 years.

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So, and then may occasionally throw in

a little surprise one or on the road

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one or whatever kind of one, whatever

kind of mischief we can get into.

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Okay, so let's talk about the, uh,

the third of the trifecta, the hip.

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Actually, my hip was hurting

before all this started happening.

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Uh, probably, I'm gonna

say:

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Um, we were in a previous relationship

at the time, and we were in, uh, St.

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Petersburg and Tampa and Clearwater,

and we were out on the beach, um, around

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Christmas time, and they had the Christmas

decorations up in the, in the park in

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Largo, so we went to go see that, and my

hip just started hurting for some reason.

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I mean, just giving me pain.

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And I had a hard time walking and, and

I was telling her that, you know, "Hey,

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look, can we slow down a little bit?"

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And that night also on the way home, my

vision started getting kinda yucky-ish.

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Uh, it was okay to drive, but it just…

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It was one of the things we stopped

at, uh, Krispy Kreme to get their

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hot donuts before we left town.

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And I said to her, I said, "You know,

my hip's just not feeling right."

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And I wasn't…

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didn't do anything to

strain it or, or mess it up.

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It just didn't feel right.

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So for the next, you know, few months,

occasionally get a little more pain in

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that right hip and, and, um, it just

doesn't seem that it wanted to go away,

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and it got worse and worse and worse.

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And as I was in the, um,

beginning phases of my eye issues

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um- Uh, it, it got real bad.

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Um, I would say probably the eye

issue started in August of:

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I would say probably by

Christmas I was using a cane.

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I was having difficulty on my right leg,

right hip, and, um, it, it-- I started

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using a cane and mastered the cane.

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Uh, and it became part of my

appendage, uh, to keep me balanced

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and to keep me from falling over.

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So, uh, the cane

procedure was interesting.

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I went on YouTube and, you know,

everyone tells you how to use a cane,

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where does it need to be and, you know,

well, it's in the opposing leg of the

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pain, so if your right leg is hurting,

use it in your left hand or left side.

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And the placement of where the, the

handle is, uh, it, it's suggested

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that you put your hands by your side

and wherever your, uh, hand wraps,

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that's the height of the cane.

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You don't want your arm bending.

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You want your arm to be straight so you're

not putting str-stress on the, on the,

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uh, the muscles in your arm also so that

you have a straight arm holding the cane.

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So I positioned the cane for my left

side, notched it down to where I needed,

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and started using the cane back in 2020.

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And, uh, went to the doctor and he goes,

"Yeah, we can do surgery for that."

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But the problem is, is that when they

wanted to do the surgery for my hip is

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when all my eyesight issues hit, and I

kept on putting it off, putting it off.

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I said, "Look, if I gotta do my hip,

that's a whole nother procedure.

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I may not be able to get

around as easily as I could."

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And I was dealing with my

vision loss at the same time

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and the cancer at the same time.

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So I had a triple whammy, uh, blind,

deaf, and dumb, as they call it.

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And it was one of those things where,

okay, priorities, you know, what's

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the most critical thing for me?

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So the vision was the first thing.

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Uh, you know, like I said before in

the last, you know, episodes, vision

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became the, the number one priority.

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And I'm, I'm blending everything now

into this final podcast about this.

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Occasionally, I'll talk a little bit

about this with others and, and other

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people that I know that have been

through, you know, serious illnesses.

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So I learned to master the cane.

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Uh, dealt with the cane all the

way through my chemo and radiation.

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Uh, got really good with it so that

I wasn't putting any more stress

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on my hip because the doctor says,

"Man, we gotta keep you healthy."

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And I didn't wanna take drugs for

the hip for pain because I was taking

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drugs for the chemo and the radiation

and the cancer and my eyesight

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And it was a b- it was a balance

between, okay, put up with the pain

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in your hip or go blind forever.

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Hmm, let me think.

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Okay, let's get the eyes taken care of.

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And that became a big cluster, uh,

because of, you know, just stupidity

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on, on, uh, on that first doctor who

did the first procedure on my cataracts.

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He just fucked me up big time.

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And then in the in-between part is, you

know, um, I postponed getting, uh, the

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colonoscopy, you know, at that time.

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Waited almost nine months,

didn't get the colonoscopy, and

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I get diagnosed with the cancer.

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So that put the hip on the back burner

because the doctor said, "Look, we don't

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wanna go doing anything to your hip if

we're doing also something about your

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cancer in that general area, and we don't

wanna, you know, stress your systems out."

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And I'm going, "Okay.

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What can I do about the hip?"

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So they gave me some pills or painkillers

and, you know, I, I've been blessed

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not to take a lot of painkillers.

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I maybe take an ibuprofen once in a while.

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I, I just…

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I'll put up with the pain.

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I know it's not good to do because it's

not good for your body, but I stressed

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it out and I, I made it through it.

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So the hip got pushed to the back.

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And again, you know, you don't know

what you don't know until it happens,

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and to decide up front, "I'm gonna

do this, this, and this," you don't.

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You basically take each issue

as it comes across the table.

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You evaluate it.

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You do, uh, a checks and balances.

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You do the old Ben

Franklin close, you know.

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How many on this side?

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How many on that side?

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Okay, this side wins.

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And it was tough.

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It was really tough.

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But I knew that I could put up

with the pain in my hip if I

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knew I could get my vision back.

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Uh, that was my priority 'cause, you know,

great, you got a hip, but you can't see.

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So who cares about getting around?

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Not, not that, that

I'm making light of it.

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It was just part of my thinking

process that, okay, my vision

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was the most important component.

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Again, cancer, yeah.

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Um, yeah, I could have it, which I did.

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I could get it treated, which I did.

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You can get, not cured, but you can

at least, you know, get it under

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control so that it doesn't come

back and rear its ugly head again.

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It did.

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And the hip, okay, it's painful at times.

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Um, so I ended up getting the first

hip surgery in February of 20-

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What was that?

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2024?

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Yeah

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Yeah.

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No.

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What was it?

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Yeah.

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No, no, it was June of 2024 that I

had the, uh, the first hip surgery.

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So it was kinda like at the end of my

chemo radiation, the doctor cleared me of,

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uh, all the craziness that was going on.

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Um, I had a cataract…

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No, I didn't have any cataract

surgery yet, done yet.

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Uh, gosh.

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You know, all this stuff blends

together and I, I tried to put

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some kind of a, a TikTok of all the

events, but you know, it, it, it…

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The long story short is three

major body components poop out.

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So in 2024, yeah, it was June of

:

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Uh, I was apprehensive about going to a

doctor here locally in, in Citrus County.

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I was thinking about going back to Tampa

or Gainesville, you know, where they

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have other surgeons and, and stuff.

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And I, I, I, um, put my request

in through the VA, and the VA, you

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know, got me a doctor to go see.

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And, uh, my friend Pete, at the time,

'cause I still wasn't able to drive,

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I couldn't see well enough to drive,

'cause I was still in my blind phase.

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We went to go visit a doctor in,

uh, Beverly Hills here, and it was

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a referral from the, uh, the VA.

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And I've learned something over the years

of being in enough doctor's offices.

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Uh, I probably have had my blood drawn

500 times in the last five, six years.

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At least 500 times I've been poked,

and I've been in enough waiting rooms

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in doctor's offices to read a room.

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And I've noticed in certain practices,

like, um, when I was going for my,

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um, cancer treatments and my radiation

treatments, um, the doctor's reception

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area were very calm and quiet.

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Yeah, the, the chemo room was packed,

but that's just the way it is.

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But it was just the, the, the, the,

the, the feeling there was calm.

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It was, there was no, "Woe

is me, I'm gonna die now."

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And the same goes back to, um,

you know, when I was having

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my, uh, my eye surgeries.

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Um, you know, going into the

doctor's offices and the doctors

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were very calm, um, wasn't rushed.

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They didn't make me feel like I was

just a number, you know, in their, in

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their food chain like some of them are.

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Then I go to this hip doctor that

was referred to me in Beverly Hills

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with Pete, and we had some X-rays.

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And, uh, I'm, I'm sitting in the

lobby with Pete and we're kinda…

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I'm sensing the room, and it was full.

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I mean, you know, I've been in waiting

rooms and all of us have been in

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doctor's waiting rooms, and you can

pretty much judge a doctor's, um-

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What's the word I'm looking for?

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His care of his, of his, of his,

you know, future, uh, patients

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Like I said, when I went to

the eye doctor's, the waiting

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rooms were calm, quiet.

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Yeah, a couple were a little

crowded 'cause it was at the

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university down in Tampa.

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Yeah, there was a lot of people, but

there was constant staff giving you

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updates, uh, you know, telling you,

"Hey, look, uh, the doctor's running

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about 20 minutes la-" You know, they

kept you up to date as to what was going

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on, didn't make you feel like you were

just gonna sit there in limbo for hours.

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Now, granted, there were times when

I was at the eye doctor down there

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where we sat there for two hours.

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You know, he was so backed up, you

know, and they apologized, come out,

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"We're sorry," you know, "we'll,

we'll get you in as soon as we can."

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But when they got you in there,

you know, you were the focus.

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And, and the same, the same thing

happened with the hip doctor.

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Now let me go back to the,

um, the first hip doctor.

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We're in the waiting room and, um,

I'm hearing, you know, conversations

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going on, and people just…

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You could sense there was a lot of

pain in the room, because people were

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talking about the pain they were in.

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And you know going, "Oh, I had my

surgery last week, and this is going on."

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Or you know, "I'm, I'm scheduled to

have surgery and I'm in a lot of pain."

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And it, it seemed like there was

a, was a freaking meat market.

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So we get in to meet the doctor,

and I had some stuff, some

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files and some, some documents.

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I think we had even some X-rays

that were shot by the VA.

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And I handed them to the doctor, and

right that point, he was so standoffish.

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I looked over to Pete, he

looked at me and I go, "Oh."

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I'm thinking to myself,

"This is not gonna go good."

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So I started asking him some questions.

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He goes, "No, just stop.

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Let me, let me tell you what I got here."

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So instead of me giving him some feedback

or some information so he could get

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a feedback on it, he was telling me

what he was gonna do, how he was gonna

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do it, and when he was gonna do it.

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And he went on and on and on.

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He didn't even, he didn't even

address the X-ray that I handed him.

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He said, "We'll get some X-rays shot

right now and then we'll do an evaluation.

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We'll bring you in and we'll

set you up for surgery."

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And he kept on going on and on.

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And I said, "Stop right there.

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I'm not a number in your turnstile.

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You know, just don't take a

number and sit here and wait here.

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Uh, I've got some stuff here

I'd like you to take a look at.

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Give me your impressions.

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Do a, you know, a composite

or a, a comparison of the two

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and, and tell me what you see.

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Yeah, you're gonna take

X-rays, and I understand that.

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You know, you may have a different

way you wanna shoot the shots.

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That's fine, that's understandable."

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You know, and each of my doctors would

say, "Well, well, you know, we did these,

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but you know, this one is not as good.

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Let's go do another one."

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"Okay, do it."

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He got offended.

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He got fucking offended that

we challenged him to ask him to

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look at what I was handing him.

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I looked at Pete and I said, "Let's get

the fuck outta here," and we walked out.

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I hate to use the

language, but I, it just…

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Every ti- I, I felt sorry for

those people in that waiting room.

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I was just, I wanted to say,

"Get the hell out of here.

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Go find another doctor.

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This guy is greedy,

selfish, and egotistical."

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And, you know, we've all been there.

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You've all been there.

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Somebody's in this audience has been

there and had, had that happen to them.

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There's no reason for that.

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He was just looking numbers.

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That's all.

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You know, he was a burn and churn.

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You know, how many beds can I put…

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You know, heads in beds can I get in

so I can get some surgery out of these?

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And we walked out, and that was the

end of that whole ordeal, and that's

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when the, you know, the, the task

came on to try to find another doctor.

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So I looked in Gainesville, and then,

uh, I asked my eye doctor, um, and my

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chemo doctor some recommendations of

some, some hip doctors in, in, in Tampa.

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And, uh, somehow,

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we ended up, uh, getting the doctor

in Inve- And I, I'm terrible.

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At some point in the future, maybe

I'll get all the doctors' names and,

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and do a tribute to every single…

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I…

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You know, that's not a bad idea.

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I think I'm gonna do that.

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I am going to do a podcast of tributes

to each of the doctors and the staff.

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I, I've got records, and I'm

gonna compile all of the names

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of, of, of the people who were

the most helpful, generous, kind,

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courteous, caring people that I met.

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You know, uh, there, there were tons

of them, tons of people who just,

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you know, made your day, you know.

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Um, and, and most of them I couldn't

even see, but I heard it in their voices.

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But going back to that

sleazebag, it was terrible.

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So ended up finding a

doctor at, in, in Inverness

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Dr.

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Bendowski, I remembered him, and Dr.

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Morissette who did my,

um, cancer, and, um, Dr.

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Espana who did my cornea transplant.

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Those are the three major doctors.

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The cornea transplant, Dr.

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Espana, Dr.

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Morissette for my cancer, and Dr.,

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um, Bendowski for my hips.

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All three excellent physicians, their

staff, their assistants, their second-tier

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doctors that, you know, worked with them

in, in the procedures, every one of them.

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Now, I gotta say that the

other part was the rehab part.

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Um, the first episode with

rehab, eh, not so good.

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Uh, I didn't know what to expect.

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You know, I'm not being able to

see, that wrong ambulance drive

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from Tampa General to, to Lecanto.

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Um, you know, with the foul-up

with the bed and, and all of

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the things that were there.

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The only thing that was the greatest

part of that was that Marie sent me,

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uh, a bacon cheeseburger or a Baconator,

Baconator from, uh, uh, um, Wendy's.

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And, and, um, it was around Valentine's

Day, she sent me donuts and balloons, and,

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oh, it just, it, it just lifted my spirits

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Um, but that was a, a, a trying time

during that because, you know, not

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being able to see, just had this

procedure done, you know, and, and

359

:

the new poop bag on and, oh, geez.

360

:

It, it, it was-- That,

that was, you know…

361

:

Again,

362

:

you know, my hip was hurting, and

it was hard to move around a lot of

363

:

times and, and the nurses were very

patient with me and, and to get me

364

:

so that I didn't have any pain and

propping my legs up and stuff like that.

365

:

Same thing when I was

doing my, uh, radiation.

366

:

I propped my legs up to make

sure my hip was not out of line

367

:

so that it wouldn't hurt me.

368

:

So I gotta say that throughout the

entire process, even though my hip got

369

:

put to the last, and which was the first

thing to, to go, uh, throughout the

370

:

entire, uh, ordeal, there were people

there who, you know, evaluated it and,

371

:

and, and, and made sure that I was

comfortable so that I wouldn't be hurting

372

:

myself or making myself feel more pain.

373

:

So all along the way, I, I

gotta thank everyone for that.

374

:

But after, uh, the, the first

surgery, and I was apprehensive.

375

:

I mean, and when he told me what he was

gonna do, they, they, you know, they slice

376

:

your side open and he says, "Yeah, we're

gonna put little, uh, widget staples."

377

:

I got them in a jar.

378

:

That was the other one I kept, the,

the aftermath from the surgery.

379

:

I didn't get the second one.

380

:

I got the first one.

381

:

I don't know why I didn't

get the second one.

382

:

But I got all the little staples that

they stuck in me to, to put the seam

383

:

together like they used to do years ago.

384

:

They'd just pull two pieces of

skin together and stitch it.

385

:

And, and I now have, you know,

matching scars on my right

386

:

hip, which was done recently.

387

:

I mean, uh, the first one in,

in twenty twenty-four and then

388

:

February 18th of this year.

389

:

Of…

390

:

Yeah, yeah, February.

391

:

Holy crap.

392

:

February I had the second hip.

393

:

Uh, yeah, and Marie was for that, here

for that one, and, um, she was just

394

:

amazed at how, how well I was feeling.

395

:

I came out of the, the surgery

really well, and they said,

396

:

"Do you wanna go to rehab?"

397

:

"No," I said, "I wanna go home."

398

:

And came home and, you know, she

worked with me to keep me moving and

399

:

kept me, uh, active so that my leg,

you know, wouldn't do anything stupid.

400

:

And here I am today, a couple of days

from my birthday on August the 9th,

401

:

and my hip is doing well, both of them.

402

:

Occasionally I have a little bit

of pain, but I think part of it

403

:

is I've lost so much fat that it's

now just, uh, meat on the bone.

404

:

Uh, I don't have any fat in my hips.

405

:

Um, but they both function well.

406

:

I still treat them gingerly

407

:

I don't, you know, jumping

out of the car real easy.

408

:

I use the hand grips to get

myself in and out to, to make sure

409

:

that I don't do anything stupid.

410

:

Um, but my next major goal is on the

f- on Monday, the 10th, to be at the

411

:

gym at least two, three times a week

to start building up my strength in my

412

:

legs and my arms 'cause I got no fat.

413

:

I'm down to skin and bones.

414

:

I, I am down to my lowest weight

that I've been in in forever.

415

:

I'm like at 190.

416

:

I mean, not 190, 149.

417

:

I mean, I have lost

weight, but I'm not sickly.

418

:

I'm just…

419

:

I just…

420

:

I can't put it on.

421

:

I don't know if it's from the, the, the

rectal surgery, now that my system has

422

:

been repositioned and re-readjusted,

that I don't keep so much poop in me

423

:

anymore, so I'm not so full of shit.

424

:

Well, people say that all the

time, but I'm not so full of it.

425

:

So I wanna build up my, my lower strength,

my lower body strength, and my upper.

426

:

I still have the neuropathy in my feet.

427

:

Uh, it's gotten down to my ankles,

so it's not in my entire leg.

428

:

It's just down to my ankles

and into my feet, and it's,

429

:

it's funky when you're walking.

430

:

It's not pins and needles.

431

:

It just feels…

432

:

I have presence of where I am.

433

:

I know what I'm walking on.

434

:

I can feel it.

435

:

I can, you know, scrunch my toes.

436

:

It just, it, it just feels like

there's something there, and I,

437

:

I, I, I've been trying hard to, to

try to describe that, that feeling.

438

:

I don't know how to do it, to

identify the feeling, but it's there.

439

:

As far as my hip is concerned,

feels good, both of them.

440

:

Uh, the right one occasionally

gives a little tingle in it, um,

441

:

but the left one, I don't even know.

442

:

It, it, it, it's…

443

:

There's no pain.

444

:

There, there's no pain.

445

:

I think part of the tingling part is

I don't have any meat on the bone,

446

:

so I think once I put a little fat

on, maybe it's just the bone won't be

447

:

rubbing so hard against my, um, my skin.

448

:

So that was all three episodes.

449

:

The cancer, the eyesight, and the hips.

450

:

I'm gonna be 76 years old on the 9th

451

:

There have been a lot of people along

the way who have helped me, too many

452

:

sometimes to name, and they will all

forever, ever hold a place in my heart.

453

:

There are some people that

were there who disappeared.

454

:

They couldn't…

455

:

They didn't wanna stick around

for the hard stuff, you know?

456

:

They just bailed, and that's fine.

457

:

One of my closest friends passed

away in the middle of all this.

458

:

Um, we, we kinda grew up here in

Crystal River, and we had made

459

:

plans that once I could, you know,

get around with my vision, we'd

460

:

hit the road and do a road trip.

461

:

Mike, I miss you, man.

462

:

We didn't get to do our road trip.

463

:

Maybe one day I'll see you again to do it.

464

:

And there, you know, there have

been a few others that, uh, bailed

465

:

Won't mention her name

466

:

But she, she, uh, in the beginning

there when the, um, the ice ice started

467

:

going south and everything else started

getting bad in the beginning back in

468

:

2020, uh, they just bailed, disappeared.

469

:

Which is, you know, your choice.

470

:

You didn't wanna be

there for the fun stuff.

471

:

And then all the other people who

have been a part of my life since

472

:

then, I, I wanna thank you all.

473

:

My sister, Pete, Dwayne, you know, Millie.

474

:

Oh God, Marie.

475

:

Um-

476

:

Just a, a lot of people.

477

:

And a lot of them have, you know,

pretty much have gone back to their

478

:

own lives and, and I understand that.

479

:

You know, they, they, they d- they

served their purpose at the time,

480

:

and I, I, I deeply appreciated

every single one of them.

481

:

I'm now at another phase in my

life trying to, uh, recapture that

482

:

zest that I had before all this

happened by taking and, and building

483

:

this studio here at the house.

484

:

I had a choice of, uh,

moving or not moving,

485

:

and the reason for not

moving is two things.

486

:

One, I was established here.

487

:

I felt comfortable here.

488

:

I have memories here, and I've

got a place where I can work from.

489

:

I can get anywhere from

here pretty quickly.

490

:

Um, and there is hope for the future

491

:

Don't know where it's going

492

:

I'm

493

:

I'm gonna be cautiously optimistic

494

:

Things happen for a reason sometimes.

495

:

We don't know what they are.

496

:

We may never know.

497

:

I do know that, um

498

:

Some people have made impacts

on you, some have not.

499

:

Some left a bad taste in your mouth.

500

:

Those who

501

:

Were there from the hard parts to

the easy parts to the everyday parts.

502

:

Thank you.

503

:

So where's my life going from here?

504

:

Well, at the moment, I'm trying

to refocus my time and energy

505

:

back to my real estate practice.

506

:

More of a, um, consultant.

507

:

Sales I enjoy

508

:

Education is the other part of it.

509

:

Putting together training.

510

:

The industry is, is, and, and I'm

going off topic now, I understand that.

511

:

But it, it's just now that it, it's

in my head, I'm gonna spurt it out

512

:

because if I don't, I'm gonna be upset

513

:

I know that my wellbeing is done.

514

:

All I gotta do now is, is,

is, uh, um, fix my heart

515

:

It's, it's heavy.

516

:

Very heavy

517

:

My heart was headed in a direction

I thought was gonna be just

518

:

tremendous, and it got bushwhacked

519

:

So what does Vinnie DeRoto,

Vinnie DeRosa want to do now?

520

:

Well, I'm not gonna reinvent myself

'cause I'm pretty much who I am

521

:

I do have things to share

522

:

And I think the medium that I'm on now

is the most efficient, most effective.

523

:

I know how to talk

524

:

I've seen a lot, done a lot

525

:

Just thinking back on the last 76

526

:

years

527

:

of the things that I've done that I

didn't know that were gonna either work

528

:

or not work, took a chance, took a risk

529

:

Some of them were good

and some were really bad.

530

:

And if people tell you that, you

know, they've never had a failure

531

:

in their life, they're lying to you

532

:

You will fail

533

:

It's just what you do

with it after it happens

534

:

When you're there financially

at the end of your ropes going,

535

:

"Oh my gosh, what do I do now?"

536

:

And you let someone else take over

it, it will, it will turn for you

537

:

as long as you do a few things.

538

:

One is you just be honest.

539

:

That, you know, I used to get friends

of mine saying, "Why aren't you so--

540

:

You're not as rich as these other

real estate agents in the industry?"

541

:

I said, "Because I can't

lie, cheat, or steal.

542

:

I can't sit there and lie to you and tell

you your property is worth this when I

543

:

know it's not worth that, or convince a

buyer to pay more for a house than it's

544

:

really worth or its reproduction cost,

reproduction, you know, reproducing cost.

545

:

I can't do that.

546

:

I can't sit there and, and be

egotistical and say, 'Well,

547

:

I made 30 sales this month.

548

:

I'm the top-notch.'"

549

:

I don't give a rat's ass who you are.

550

:

How did you get there?

551

:

Who did you abuse to get there?

552

:

You know, and, and, and what I'm saying,

and again, this is gonna be a whole

553

:

'nother episode for my Fiduciary Fridays,

which I think we're gonna start next week.

554

:

And if it's just me for a while,

that's good, but I got friends around

555

:

the country that may join in with me.

556

:

So I'm giving you a little

preview of some of the things

557

:

that, that are important to me.

558

:

Um, monetarily, yeah, I've made some

good money and I've made some bad money.

559

:

I mean bad meaning I've

lost a lot of money.

560

:

I've made some bad decisions or got

involved with people who were not as,

561

:

um, dedicated to what I wanted to do.

562

:

They wanted to go off on their own

little tangents within the company,

563

:

and it, it wasn't the way to go.

564

:

And again, I, I used to get this from my

dad occasionally, and, and it kinda hurt.

565

:

He goes, "Why aren't you more successful

as your other friends in real estate are?"

566

:

And I go, "Dad, 'cause I can't

lie, cheat, or steal from people."

567

:

Did you hear what I just said?

568

:

I can't lie, cheat, or steal

569

:

I, I could have been a top producer and,

and had all the, you know, accolades and

570

:

awards and trophies and I'm so and so.

571

:

And I see them on, on, on, on

YouTube and their videos, and

572

:

they tell you how great they are.

573

:

They're all fucking liars

574

:

Who are they serving?

575

:

They're serving themselves.

576

:

They don't care about anybody else other

than themselves and their own pocket.

577

:

Yeah, you gotta make

money, I understand that.

578

:

But I learned something from Zig

Ziglar years ago, you can help enough

579

:

people get what they want, and you

will get what you want, period.

580

:

I've lived by that, and I've died by it

581

:

I'm sorry to get off on a tangent on

today, it's just that when something

582

:

like that comes into my head, I just

can't let it go, and you'll find that

583

:

out when we do other, other podcasts

that I don't pull any punches.

584

:

I call it like I see it, and I can

back up everything that I will state.

585

:

Everything that I will make a comment

on, I can point a finger at it.

586

:

I can tell you when it happened, how it

happened, and by whom it happened with.

587

:

And when I start on that tan-

that, that trail, look out baby.

588

:

I am gonna be…

589

:

I don't have anything to lose.

590

:

You can't hurt me financially, you

can't hurt me physically, you can't help

591

:

me-- hurt me spiritually and mentally.

592

:

So you know what?

593

:

Tough

594

:

I don't have friends,

I have acquaintances.

595

:

I can name all my friends on one hand

596

:

Uh, I need to, uh, chill out a little

bit 'cause that just wound me up.

597

:

Anyway, I wanna thank, again, all of

the great doctors, nurses, assistants,

598

:

techs who had a hand on me literally

from, from my head to my toes.

599

:

Uh, you know, there were hundreds,

literally hundreds of professionals

600

:

who I've met these last six, seven

years who had a, an impact on me.

601

:

Uh, just some of the kindest people who

just came in to turn down the bed or get

602

:

me in bed or get me out of bed or help

me to the bathroom, help me take a shower

603

:

There are tons of those folks

out there, and if you'd ever come

604

:

across them, give them a hug.

605

:

Tell them thank you.

606

:

They don't get enough of

that, and every time I…

607

:

somebody would do something, I'd

just say, "Thank you for your time.

608

:

I appreciate you

609

:

Because sometimes it's a thankless job.

610

:

They don't hear it enough.

611

:

And, and I would sit there, like

I said, in the chemo room, and I'd

612

:

hear these nurses talking, you know,

amongst themselves about patients

613

:

and what the circ- circumstances

were with that particular patient.

614

:

I was within earshot of their,

their little work area, and I'd hear

615

:

conversations, and I'd look at the

person they were talking about and I'm

616

:

going, "Oh my gosh, that poor person."

617

:

So we just pray for them

618

:

'Cause you can't do anything else for him

619

:

I don't, I don't want you

to have any pity on me.

620

:

I'm not looking for a pity party.

621

:

I'm looking for strength

622

:

Direction, wisdom, and just

plain old moral turpitude.

623

:

Is that a good word?

624

:

Fortitude

625

:

Yeah, I know this started out on my

hips, but if you can't move, which

626

:

I could have been stuck with really

bad hips and not able to get around.

627

:

I am, I am, I am…

628

:

Like I said, I, I, I'm thanking God today.

629

:

I got up, I had important tasks I

had to do, went to Publix and spent

630

:

my proverbial $150, which came out

with six bags, going, "Holy shit."

631

:

And, um, came home and said, "I'm gonna

get this podcast prepared and done so

632

:

that I can get it posted for tomorrow."

633

:

And I've made my mind up how I wanna

do these things, and if you care to

634

:

join me along this path to listen,

to contribute, to be a part of, I,

635

:

I in- I, I invite you to join me.

636

:

Uh, you can do it remotely.

637

:

Uh, you can come into the studio

and come visit and sit across from

638

:

me and we can have conversations

639

:

I, I'm gonna make this wide open

for anyone who wants to talk.

640

:

So again, I wanna thank everyone

who's listened to me rant and

641

:

rave on these last three episodes

642

:

And those of you who are out there who,

uh, feel lost, unwanted, you're not.

643

:

You're not

644

:

Just take the time

645

:

to feel good about yourself

646

:

There is a better day coming.

647

:

Absolutely a better day coming.

648

:

I thank you for listening.

649

:

This is Cousin Vinny on

the Cousin Vinny Hour.

650

:

This is Vinny DeRosa, and I wanna thank

you all from the bottom of my heart

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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