On September 11th I was working as an art director in Philadelphia.
I was walking through our artist studio when I heard Howard Stern on the radio say something casually about reports of a plane crash at the World Trade Center.
For a few seconds everyone on the show was speaking with almost glib curiosity, imagining it was a small private plane and speculating on what might have happened. Very quickly it became clear that this was something different.
I can remember standing in that spot for a long time, unable to move and barely breathing as they all gathered information in real-time. And I started to hear something in their voices I never heard before: genuine fear.
The surgery to remove the benign tumor at the base of my brain is set for Friday October 1st.
Being only 3 weeks away and 3 days after my upcoming book launch, life is going to get crazy here but I'm feeling good and looking forward to beginning recovery!
We have a great team of doctors, a good plan, and a wonderful group of family, friends, and this virtual community around us—and I am feeling grateful.
People have been asking how they can support us from a distance. Honestly, in addition to positive thoughts, kind words/prayers, supporting the book would be huge, as I expected to be spend October promoting it—and that ain't gonna happen!😜
Thank you! johnpavlovitz.com/jerk
Yesterday, I posted that I was trying not to let my tumor go to my head.
A woman named Cynthia said that she finds funny posts about my tumor diagnosis "disturbing."
Dear Cynthia (and others who share her discomfort),
Having a tumor in your brain is terrifying. Even if it's benign and even if the procedure is less invasive than it could be and even if recovery should be complete.
It's still brain surgery, which is not what you want to hear you need.
It's a source of incredible stress for the person and those who love them and alters all of their plans.
Weeks after my bout with COVID I still quite wasn't feeling right. My doctor ordered some blood work which came back odd and he requested a brain MRI.
The MRI confirmed a (very likely benign) tumor in my pituitary at the base of my brain. Given its size and variety, it will unfortunately require surgery.
The procedure will be less invasive than it could have been, but will still be brain surgery followed by 2 days in the ICU and a few weeks of recovery.
MAGA dudebros think this meme is some sort of "gotcha."
Yeah, why wouldn't I have trusted the "injecting bleach" guy who denied the pandemic, refused masks, slowed testing, attacked Fauci, accused nurses of selling supplies, and allowed 500,000 Americans to die?
You poor kids.😂
People who refuse the vaccine for reasons other than preexisting medical conditions, should be required to wave hospital treatment for COVID.
If you're going to shun free safeguards, you should be required to pay for the consequences of your defiance out of your own pocket.
The burden these people are unnecessarily placing on our healthcare system and the economic toll of their recklessness on a nation already devastated from the past 18 months is unconscionable. If you want to take a stand against vaccines, then take it on your own shoulders.
And before you hit me with "I though you were about compassion" nonsense: I have compassion for children, for the immunocompromised, for vulnerable communities, for healthcare workers, for tens of millions of people doing all they can to protect themselves and others.