"I'll fix you ... "

Six months later, the scans made little sense.

Apr 23, 2026

Two doctors told me I needed throat surgery. As a singer, that’s something you never want to hear.

My voice was already hoarse. And surgery? That’s a gamble for any singer.

Even Adele underwent vocal cord surgery. She came back strong—but any singer knows: once you go under the knife, there’s always a question mark.

Resting my voice was the key ingredient, no matter what, but I had one song to sing before I did—the theme song to a small independent movie called “Karaoke Man.” In the vocal booth at “The Exchange” recording studio in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, I told Kevin Arndt, the talented engineer there, that I had a maximum of three vocal takes in me, if that. He said, “Okay, let’s do it.” He hit the track, and I proceeded, fighting my way through the longer tune, breathing deeply and huffing, but I made it. I wouldn't sing again for over six months, a song I’ll share in my next newsletter.

The dialogue between actor Brian Dietzen (NCIS) and Marc Evan Jackson (The Good Place, Jumanji, and more) inspired the song “Where Love Lives.” The last line in this clip stopped me in my tracks. Searching for a song idea, I knew that was it.

After considering surgery, I saw an acupuncturist in Madison, Dr. Yingchun Chi. She told me to hold off on any surgery. “I’ll fix you,” were her words.

Six months later, I went into University of Wisconsin, Madison Hospital for a follow-up medical imaging. The technician took new images of my throat. Six medical students were present, waiting for the doctor to arrive. My previous medical image showing my inflamed vocal cords was on half of the monitor screen, and next to it was my new image—smooth, clean … gone.

The students stood stunned.

The young male doctor walked in, studied both images, shook my hand, and said:

“Congratulations … you just pulled off some kind of node-removal miracle.” Then he walked out as the students nodded.

So maybe the answer isn’t always the knife. Sometimes internal rewiring is necessary. Rest, treatment, diet—and yes, a few prayers—did the work. No long recovery. No risk to the voice. Just trusting a path that doesn’t look conventional.

And yeah, love really does live on the edge of a cliff.

But anything worth pursuing does. No? 😊

Thanks for reading!

Let’s “make this journey a smoother ride.”

Michael

Where Love Lives (Theme from the movie “Karaoke Man”)

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