🧠 EPISODE DESCRIPTION
Some phone calls change your life forever.
In Episode 2 of I Have a What? Surviving a Brain Tumor, I, Johnathan “TeflonJohn” Smith, share the moment everything shifted, the day I got the call that revealed what was really happening inside my head.
After months of being told it was all in my mind, I finally found a new ENT specialist who took me seriously. She listened, ordered the right tests, and gave me hope that we might finally have answers. What came next was something I could never have prepared for.
That morning, I was leaving a meeting at work when my phone rang. I thought it was just a quick follow-up about my scan results. Instead, I heard the words that froze me in place: “We found a mass in your brain.”
In that instant, everything changed. My world went silent. My thoughts went blank. It felt like time stopped.
In this episode, I talk about what it feels like to:
- Hear life-changing news in the middle of a normal day
- Feel the shock, numbness, and disbelief that come in waves
- Process the déjà vu of hearing a diagnosis like this after my wife’s own tumor journey
- Try to find the words to tell my wife and mom what I just learned
- Realize that strength sometimes means being still, not being loud
This episode is not only about the diagnosis but about the human moments that follow. The silence, the fear, and the love that shows up when you finally speak the words out loud.
Every episode of this series is dedicated to my grandfather, James Smith Jr., whose example of hard work, family, and faith continues to guide me through life’s hardest moments. His lessons remind me that true strength is found in perseverance and in showing up for the people you love.
If you have ever experienced a moment that split your life into “before” and “after,” this episode will speak to you.
🎧 Listen now and subscribe to I Have a What? Surviving a Brain Tumor on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and iHeartRadio to follow this journey of faith, resilience, and hope.
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