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Not long after gettin' engaged to Marsi, I came down with the flu. I tried to make sure Marsi didn't
catch it, an' she didn't. But the flu bug seemed to keep hangin' on a little longer than what I had experienced in the
past, an' I began to experience trouble breathing. I also started having trouble talking to people... they couldn't
understand me an' said I sounded like I was talking under water. Marsi was really concerned too, cause I couldn't get
as close to her because it gave me the feeling of being suffocated. I thought it might be pnumonia 'cause I couldn't
get a full breath. Marsi finally talked me into goin' to a doctor. After a fairly quick checkup, the doctor wouldn't
let me out of the hospital. She (my doctor) said that she was surprised I was able to walk in under my own power, 'cause
I had conjestive heart failure that would have killed me in another two weeks. Apparrently the flu I caught resulted
in bacteria buildin' up in my system that attacked my heart. Further tests showed that my curculatory system was O.K...
no diabetes, no high colesterol, etc. If I wasn't "heart healthy" before I got sick things would have been much worse.
The damage done was minor overall, but my heart didn't know any better an' started buildin' up water around it...
sorta like a blister forms on a burn. But the huge amount of fluid (about 35 lbs)was keepin' my heart from beatin' like
it should... squeezin' it. The funny thing is that I didn't feel a bit of pain through the whole thing. I stayed
in the hospital for almost a week, an' lost about 50 lbs... mostly water an' a little flab due to my hospital diet.
By the time I was ready to leave the hospital my heart was showin' improvement an' the doctor was encouraged. She said
that 1 out of 3 people that have this happen to them totally recover an' the other two thirds usuall live normal lives with
the help of medication. My near-death experience caused me to re-evaluate my priorities. I had been workin' for
Radio Shack in sales durin' the day an' workin' my Elvis routine at night. I came to the conclusion that life is too
short an' I might as well focus on what I really like to do the most... sing. So, after makin' the move back to Amador
County with Marsi, I began to perform on more than just a "semi-Pro" basis. Today, I'm doin' well... with Marsi at my
side an' a growin' fan base. I hope to build more momentum in my career... hopfully enough to get bigger an' bigger
bookings. So far, everything's on track, an' the more I perform, the more my health improves... I'll be finishin' up on the Autobiography in the near future...
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