Kyle Vz

Ok, so this is normally the part where you read the third person bio about me where I tell you my lowly upbringing, my outstanding adolescent abilities, how I always wanted to be a musician, and finally, how I’m now “pressing towards the mark”. Well I’ve read those before and they’re all so corny. So I’m going to take the approach of my favorite musician/record business woman, Taylor Swift. Thanks Taylor. I’m going to be honest, and tell it from my perspective. So here we go.

I was born in Lawrenceville, Georgia, now called Metro Atlanta. I don’t remember living there so I don’t count it as my home town. My Dad joined the FBI when I was three and we started moving. I’ve lived in New Orleans, NOVA (Northern Virginia), Omaha, Toccoa, and now Chickamauga. Each place had it’s own memories, but none compare to the memories of D.C..

My life would change forever and I could go on forever, but I’ll keep it short and you can come to my shows for tidbits about my life. It all started when I was 10. I was having a lot of trouble in school and my teacher called my mom and said she thought I had Tourette Syndrome. I had never heard of that, but sure enough we took me to the neurologist and I was diagnosed with Tourettes, ADD, and OCD. 5th grade was the hardest year of school. I would have to spend hours doing my homework and I would be shaking so much with all my ticks that there were some nights I couldn’t finish. But I got through it.

5th grade was hard enough as it was, but during the second semester I would be diagnosed with cancer of the Thyroid, Thymus, and Neck. That was hard- plain and simple. I remember when my parents told me I had cancer. It felt like a movie. I grabbed my Dad and I looked around and waited for the Director to say, “Cut! Great job.” But I got through it.

When I was 15, I wasn’t acting like myself. My mom thought I was possessed- seriously! I would go into these acts of rage and then snap out of it and just cry and cry and cry. Then I would sleep for hours and no one could wake me up. We took me to my neurologist and she said to have an MRI. Sure enough there was a golfball sized tumor on my brain. I would have to have two surgeries for that.

On the night of the second surgery, my life would change forever. At about 5:00 p.m., September 12 I would have not 1, but 2 strokes that would leave me paralyzed on my right side from the neck down. September 11, 2001 was a day that would change America forever; September 12, 2001 was a day that would change me forever.

It’s funny how and 8 year old can be so wise, but my brother, my hero, showed me that he was when he said something that I will never forget. We were staying up all night just talking. I still couldn’t play guitar because of my stroke, so around 6 a.m. I said to him, “Gabe, I’m really mad that I can’t play guitar anymore, and I’m really mad that I’ll never amount to anything. What should I do?” He says to me, “Kyle, don’t focus on the past, don’t look to the future, live for today.”