Barbra and Liza Live! star tells inspiring story!

I know that most people’s lives were turned upside down during the pandemic and mine was no exception. Both of my parents became ill and I moved in with them to take care of them as no one was allowed to enter the house during the early days of Covid. One day I awoke with a bad case of vertigo and the emergency doctor did a lot of tests and discovered that I had prostate cancer. I had an operation and, after recovering, was preparing to do “Barbra and Liza LIVE!” In New York. At dress rehearsal, as we were singing the last note of the last song, I fell to the ground and had a Heart attack. Luckily, Barbra (Steven Brinberg) kept talking to me until the ambulance arrived. They said I had the heart attack in “the widow maker” artery and I shouldn’t have survived, but I did. They put in a stent to open the artery and when the doctor asked as I came out of anaesthesia, “Do you have any questions?” I said, “Yes. Can I sing on Monday? I’ve never missed a show and I am not going to start now.” I did the show four days after the operation and we were a smash. Just the pick me up I needed.

A month later, I lost my mom. Then I had a gastric blockage and one day I passed out in my apartment. It turned out I was bleeding internally. Luckily someone found me and called the ambulance or I wouldn’t be here. When they did a catscan they discovered I had “Double Hit B cell Lymphoma” which would require me to have chemotherapy for a week, 24 hours a day in the hospital, every two weeks for 4 months.

I had a lot of support (Lennox Hill said I had more visitors than anyone in the history of the hospital…even my dentist came!). Months of rehab followed and dealing with the side effects of chemotherapy - neuropathy, diabetes, liver problems. And just when I thought I had been through it it all - my dad died. Luckily, I have been getting in shape to return to performing and I am hoping that I will be at full strength when Barbra and I hit the stage in the UK. Like LIZA, I keep a positive attitude and JUST KEEP GOING!