<div>On December 12, 2024, I sat in a neurosurgeon's office, looking at an MRI that showed my brain tumor had grown back. I had two brain surgeries in 2016, and my last MRI in 2021 still showed an empty cavity where a tumor had been. But now, it was back.
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<div>I knew another brain surgery was coming. My wife and three-year-old daughter were flying east to visit family, and I stayed home to watch our pets. But I also saw that weekend as my chance to finally get to recording an album—something I’d wanted to do for years. Suddenly, I felt an urgency I’d never felt before.
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<div><strong>Why? </strong>
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<div>Because it hit me that more than anything, I want to create something lasting for my daughter—something she can always have as a piece of me. So I hunkered down that weekend and laid down the bulk of the album’s foundation, acoustic guitar and vocals for almost every track.
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<div>Skip ahead to February 3rd—I had brain surgery, and it went great. I actually felt better than I had after the previous surgeries. By then, I had even released the first single, Today, and was deep into finishing the rest of the album. I had session musicians from around the world adding parts through Musiversal, and I was reconnecting with old friends to collaborate. Everything was going according to plan.
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<div>But you know what they say<em>—if you want to make God laugh, make a plan.</em>
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<div>Just over a month after brain surgery, on March 8th, I took a gig playing bass at a vineyard near San Francisco. I knew chemo and radiation were coming soon, and I wanted to play a couple of shows before starting treatment. But in the second set, I had a seizure. A brutal one.
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<div>When I came to, I was in an ambulance. Both of my shoulders were dislocated and broken. I spent days in one hospital before being transferred to Stanford Palo Alto for surgery on both shoulders. Finally, on Saturday, March 15th, I made it home.
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<div><strong>Why I Need Your Help</strong>
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<div>Right now, I don’t know exactly when I’ll start chemo and radiation—they want me to begin ASAP, but I need at least some arm functionality back first. In the meantime, I’m pouring everything I have into finishing this album. I can still use my hands to type, mix, and edit, so that’s what I’m doing. But with medical bills stacking up, our family’s resources are drained.
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<div>I need to finish this album, but at this point, I can’t do it alone. I need your help to make it happen.
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<div>I hate asking for this kind of support, but now is the time. Anything you can contribute will help me cover medical costs, give me what I need to complete Weird Times, and make sure my daughter has this forever.
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<div>Thank you for reading. Thank you for sharing. And thank you for helping me make this possible.
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<div>Check out more pics and such here:
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<div><a href="https://tinyurl.com/DavidBarsky" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><a href="https://tinyurl.com/DavidBarsky" target="_blank" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://tinyurl.com/DavidBarsky</a></a>
</div>

Janet Barsky

Anonymous

Brad Rhodus

Andy Roth

eric geffner

crystal coke

James Stidham

Mark Masson

Barbara Auerbach

j log

Denise DeRossett

Valerie Horner

Darrin Brenner

Brain Surgery, Broken Shoulders and Weird Times

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PYMK has donors

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Brain Surgery, Broken Shoulders and Weird Times

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