Now I know a little more about what Doyle Brunson went through when he underwent surgery for cancer and the doctors found nothing and gave him a clean bill of health.
This was at the height of Doyle's poker playing career. The prognosis was not good for the king of poker. Tests were made, they turned out negative, and there was gloom in the Brunson household until he emerged from the surgical room with the excellent rooms.
All I can say for the people in surgical gowns and caps, the nurses, nurse practitioners, the anesthesiologists, the scrubs and, yes, the surgeons, is that they are underestimated and not given nearly enough credit for what they do under tense circumstances.
I am a military veteran and decided to have my operation done by VA-trained surgeons. I could not have made a better choice. To Lori, Ronald Steve, and the other members of the team who wheeled me and out of surgery, all I can say is a sincere thanks. Your services and excellence could not have been greater.
Poker players sometimes fail to take care of their bodies. I guess it goes with the territory. About a year ago I discovered something that had to be surgically repaired. I kept putting it off, hoping it would repair itself.
It didn't.
I made an appointment at the VA in Charleston, S.C.. for an exam and after several examinations, they determined surgery was the best route. I gritted my teeth and said, 'Go ahead.'
I am glad I did.
My friend artist Ted DeGrazia, who owned the Gallery of the Sun Art Gallery in Tucson, AZ., once granted me an interview. Ted loved the medical profession, but he also admired the curanderos, the medical practitioners of the Apache and Yaqui Indian tribes. Ted said when a man was young, he needed curanderos. When he grew older, he needed doctors, nurses and medical teams. And then if you couldn't fix it with baling wire, to hell with it.
Well, the surgeon used more than baling wire to repair the damage in my body. The surgery took place today. The operation is over, I am in far less pain than I an ticipated, and I am indebted to medical science for the good results. Thank you, Ralph A. Johnson Medical Center, and I say this from the bottom of my heart.
After the astounded doctors pronounced Doyle Brunson free of cancer, he went on a poker tear, winning his next 21 poker sessions. Nobody -- and I mean nobody -- could beat him. Doyle had literally been given a new lease on life.
Good health is literally what life is all about. When you feel healthy, you can do almost anything at the poker or other gambling tables. Life is an oyster and it is there for you to cut, carve and choose as you well.
As I write this, I am still just a bad weak from my ordeal, but I am rapidly regaining my strength. The credit doesn't go to me. I know who to credit, and they are in my prayers and thoughts. I won't forget you.
My daughter Rossana stood by me, reading endless magazines in the waiting room. What a daughter. When she was born, all I can say is the Lord blessed me with the best.
I don't know if I will be able to match or top Brunson's 21 winning poker sessions, but I certainly aim to try. Let luck and the games begin. Life is good.
To Doyle, all I can do is praise your surgeons for their expertise. They did a good job of researching the unknown. I hope you have many more good years of poker playing left in you, Doyle. There are few players who can top you, especially now.
Author: Geno Lawrenzi Jr.
(Geno Lawrenzi Jr. is an international journalist, magazine author and ghostwriter and poker player who lives in Phoenx, AZ. He has published 2,000 articles in 50 magazines and 125 newspapers. If you want to share a gambling story or book idea with him, send an email to glawrenzi@gmail.com ).
