As the old phrase states, “The best laid plans of mice and men can often go awry.” Boy, isn’t that the truth? Last summer I was putting the wheels into motion to release my media memoir “Raised on the Radio” on Amazon n 2025. The plan was to make it an e-book and paperback release for those who wanted that option. The strategy was for me to spend the late spring and then the summer of THIS YEAR promoting the book; doing phone interviews for radio, podcasts, TV spots if possible and online avenues as well.
“Raised on the Radio” is NOT coming out this year. Life got in the way; that’s for sure. It started with having a very difficult school year. The students I had were a true challenge (harder than any other year I’ve ever had) and many adjustments, meetings and other measures had to be taken to get things together. Things calmed down at times but those first four months were very rough. I had little post-work free time to dedicate to my book project.
The other problem was my health issues which I chronicled earlier this week. From mid-December through March, I had various procedures and challenges like I never experienced before.
I knew back in February the book release would not happen in 2025. It bummed me out but I had to accept the logistical facts.
No book this year. Maybe another time.
SO WHERE ARE THINGS NOW?
It’s hard to look too far in the future. Right now I need to focus on my personal health and adding the burden of releasing and promoting a book is not conducive to getting well. There’s no way to put a timetable on my health issues. It sucks, but to borrow an overused phrase, “It is what it is.”
Will “Raised on the Radio” ever get out to the public? ‘We’ll see’ is the best answer I can offer. Most people don’t read anymore anyway; so my media memoir being permanently shelved would not be a major loss to the literary world.
NOTICE- This blog is NOT a self-started “Pity Party.” There are millions of people who are facing much worse situations than what I’ve dealt with the past 4 months. Those born starving in poor third world countries, those battling with lifelong afflictions like blindness, being crippled, having cerebral palsy or cognitive disabilities. When I used to substitute teach, I worked many special education rooms with kids who had multi-needs. Same went for working summer recreation programs. There are also those of all ages fighting cancer, Parkinson’s disease, mental issues and many other maladies that most of us are blessed to not have.
This blog is just to review what’s been going on with me since December of 2024. I also want to update how things are now.
Things started O.K. in early December when I underwent my second ever colonoscopy. The results showed my pipes to be clean as a whistle and I’m not in need for another roto-rooter job for 10 years. The only drawback is the colon cleaning you deal with the night before with the liquid prep stuff. I joked that a mudslide was coming so take your loved ones and move to higher ground!
Two weeks later my detached retina adventure began. I had my scleral buckle surgery two days before Christmas and spent the next four weeks recovering from this vision correction.
The update on my eye: My right eye’s vision is very good, very close to where it was before the surgery. Dr. Weinberg told me it will continue to improve over the next several months.
HOWEVER- My left eye was checked for possible retina issues and on April 2nd I’ll have a laser procedure done to shore up the weakness in there. It turns out I’m 10 times more likely to have a detached retina in my left lamp and this patch-up up will prevent this.
After getting back to school in late January I ended up catching my first ever COVID infection which knocked me out of commission for another five days.
The Update on my COVID- No long-term problems and after being sick for 4 days, I bounced back with no lingering effects.
So then came late February and my first ever kidney stone. I got plenty of great advice from friends and co—workers who’ve been through this same ordeal. I dare say this was the worst, most relentless pain I have ever endured. It made a broken arm at age 12 and a severely burnt leg from a fire at age 15 seem like child’s play.
The update on my kidney stone- On March 14th I had Sonic Lithotripsy done to my kidney stone. No bad after effects and the chances are good to pass smaller bits of the stone through my urine. So far that has not happened BUT I’m also having no pain issues. I will see my urologist again on April 16th for further in case anything else needs to be planned.
Throughout all of these medical issues, I have received incredible and expert care from my doctors, nurses, technicians, office visit schedulers and anyone else I encountered. There was never a moment of doubt or worry that I was in the wrong hands during any of this. Having very good health insurance has also been a major blessing!
So many friends, co-workers and family members rallied around me with invaluable support. Needed car rides, errands done and those who kept my spirits up with emails, Facebook posts and phone calls. Wow! I hope I’m as good to all these folks as they’ve been to me. I’m happily in their debt.
Where I am right now- At the age of 64 years and two months, I have come to see clearer than ever how vital good health is. It’s something to never take for granted and it really is time to do everything on my part to improve my selfcare and in turn, my overall health.
A few years before he passed away, rocker Tom Petty was asked about turning sixty years old in a few months. His reply was, “Well, if you’re not getting older, you’re dead.” So, I’ll continue to get older with the hope that I’m close to being done with doctor appointments, cat-scans, X-rays and other medical probing for a good long while.
The Band singing their classic, “The Shape I’m In.”
