Show Transcript

0:00:01 - (Kevin Lowe): When you think about faith, what is it that you think of? Do you think of faith in terms of a belief in God? You think of faith in terms of believing in something, even though you cannot see it. Today's episode is a story about faith, a story of both of those definitions. David Pascalone was a kid who grew up, and you could say the cards were stacked against him. I don't know about you, but how was your childhood?

0:00:33 - (Kevin Lowe): Did you have the cards stacked against you? David sure did. Matter of fact, he went through childhood with so many medical issues, yet nobody would listen to him. He was just a kid. Everybody just kept blowing him off until, of course, there came a time when he became an adult and he could take control. Even through all the hard times, through his childhood into his adult years, David kept his faith, his faith in something better, his faith in something more, a faith in his creator.

0:01:10 - (Kevin Lowe): And at the end of the day, when you hear David's story, you're going to think to yourself, my gosh, this guy has been through a lot, and yet he still keeps his faith in God front and center. Today is a story meant to inspire you, to empower you on the good days and the bad. When you're having a rough day, I want you to think of today's episode of today's guest, and I want you to be empowered by it.

0:01:45 - (Kevin Lowe): To remind you that, you know what? I can do it, too. My friend, I welcome you to episode 268. What's up, my friend? And welcome to Grit, grace, and inspiration. I am your host, Kevin Lowe. 20 years ago, I awoke from a life saving surgery, only to find that I was left completely blind. And since that day, I've learned a lot about life, a lot about living, and a lot about myself. And here on this podcast, I want to share those insights with you.

0:02:16 - (Kevin Lowe): Because, friend, if you are still searching for your purpose, still trying to understand why or still left searching for that next right path to take, we'll consider this to be your stepping stone to get you from where you are to where you want to be. Hey, how's that personal development going for you? Are you keeping track of your score? Being sure you're doing good, improving a little bit each day?

0:02:43 - (Kevin Lowe): Well, chances are you said no. Not at all. Well, this podcast focuses on personal development, so it makes sense that I'm going to give you something to help you out. I want you to download our brand new rise and thrive personal development tracker. It's totally free, and I've made it specific for you, my friend. All you have to do is text the word rise R-I-S-E rise to 3377. Again, get your very own personal development tracker by texting the word rise to 33 triple seven.

0:03:26 - (Kevin Lowe): Or if you're not into texting, you can also find the link inside of today's show notes to get access to that tracker as well. My friend. With that said, here we are diving into the story of today's guest. I introduce David Pascala.

0:03:47 - (David Pasqualone): So my parents were never married and then both families didn't like each other and both parents had issues they didn't deal with. So my parents not only weren't married, but they weren't together. So I was raised by my mom, a single mom, and she moved in with my grandma. And my grandma, when we moved in from birth, she had like cancer. So I knew her for the first four and a half years. She was an amazing woman but she was always sick and struggling and then on the other side.

0:04:17 - (David Pasqualone): My mom loved me but she had her own issues and demons she was dealing with and I spent a lot of time with my grandma. And then when my grandmother died, my mom got super depressed and added to the already existing issues. So it was never like a normal, let's say childhood there. And there was issues which I love my mom, she's still alive, I still talk to her and she's in town. But it definitely wasn't the ideal childhood, so to speak.

0:04:46 - (David Pasqualone): So then when I was, we were really poor, like very poor. I'm american poor, but still poor. And when it rained stuff, water would come in the house and the roof was like no joke, like 6ft high maybe it was just an old house built. People came over from Italy, my family, and they built it and they built out of scrap wood and they just built room to room to, you know, I'm thankful for a home, I'm thankful for a shelter, but it just wasn't, again, ideal. So when I was a kid, I was always getting sick and they didn't really know why and they just assumed nothing was wrong and they thought, I think basically sometimes how your parents, they use you for attention.

0:05:30 - (David Pasqualone): Yes, I think pretty much what the doctors thought was I was always getting sick because I was modeling my mother's behavior or she was putting me up to it to get attention. So again, it was just back then it was just you are what you are and you stay with your family and you just work through the problems or you just take the abuse. So I never said anything to anybody. I just went through it. But when I was like eleven and twelve, I started getting really sick and sick, meaning, like, tired all the time, couldn't breathe right through my nose, really just weird things. It was like I was getting the flu or strep throat every couple of weeks.

0:06:05 - (David Pasqualone): It was just really bizarre. And so everybody was telling me I was depressed and all this stuff. When I was 15, I just stopped going to the doctor because I was so sick of them telling me nothing was wrong and just prescribe me antibiotics. And then from 15 to 18, I just kept getting sicker and sicker and sicker. And then my senior year, I turned 18. Now I can actually have some say in what's going on.

0:06:32 - (David Pasqualone): So when I went to the doctors, I'm like, I want my tonsils and adenoids out, and why? I'm like, I get sick every week or two, and I'm always feeling run down, and I just want them out. I'm tired of this. And I'm like, whatever. So they're like, they're going to take them out. And at this point in my life, I was always trying to work to make money because I didn't want to be poor, and I was always trying to work out because I didn't want to be sick and fat.

0:06:59 - (David Pasqualone): So when I was 18, I was wrestling, and I love wrestling, but I could literally go to practice and feel like trash. But other people would tell me I was, like, Strong. I was like, what? I thought they were making fun of me. And then I go run, like, 6 miles, but then I'd go to bench press, and I couldn't even lift 100 pounds. It would just fluctuate. Like, one day I could bench 225, no problem. The next day, I couldn't bench 100 pounds, and I was sleeping all day in class, but I couldn't sleep, like, straight through the night.

0:07:32 - (David Pasqualone): I carried a backpack with a roll of toilet paper in it at all times because carrying tissues just wasn't enough. Constantly blowing my nose, constantly sick. Anyway, so I go to the doctor. I told him, do it. And back then, they did pre op inspection. I don't know what you call it. And a week before the surgery, I went in, and the nurse is like, hey, oh, hold on. I got to back up. I went on a trip to Orlando.

0:07:57 - (David Pasqualone): It was the first vacation we ever took. Second vacation we ever took in 18 years went to Orlando, and it was a trip I didn't even really want to go on, but it was like, okay, it's a vacation. Going to Disney world might as well, right? And when we went, you know how, like, you go on a flight in your ear blocks? Yes. My ear blocked, and it stayed. Blocked the entire trip. And then we flew back and it stayed. And at this point, I was interviewing. I don't know what you call it, but I was talking to the army, marines, air force, Navy.

0:08:28 - (David Pasqualone): I wanted to serve God in my country, to go to college, to become an officer, to serve my country. Well, I remember getting back and my ear was blocked. And I was telling the air force recruiter, we're sitting in the public library. It's like, just grab your nose and blow. And I'm like, pushing, pushing, pushing. Could not unblock my ear. And he literally laughed. Like, basically, you're a puss. Like, you're a wuss.

0:08:51 - (David Pasqualone): We don't want you. And he got up and walked away, and I was like, that guy's a giant ahole. I don't want to deal with guys like him anymore. So I'm like, air force is off the table. And then I took my asvab just because I didn't plan on going enlisted, but just in case, I took it, and I scored like a 99 or something, or 98 out of 99. And then I found out they had a mistake on their test, so they were really trying to recruit me.

0:09:15 - (David Pasqualone): But all this is going on. I hate school. I'm always sick. My house was a nightmare. I'm not even going to talk about that. Like, the personal life there. And then now I'm in this pre op I haven't been able to hear. And during the same time, there was a lump in the roof of my mouth, which I told the doctor about when I went to see him about my tonsils and adenoids. He didn't. He said he didn't even acknowledge it. So now the nurse is there, and she's like, hey, when did you get this abscess? I'm like, I've had it for, like, six months. It's like, what? I'm like, yeah, I've had this for six months. I told the doctor, and she's like, it's not in the notes. I'm like, that's not my fault.

0:09:50 - (David Pasqualone): They're like, okay, well, we should get a CAT scan just to be safe, to make sure it's not near. And guess what? We'll give you antibiotics. I'm going to get a big surprise there. Yes. So I go to take this CAT scan, and then I go back home and normal. I've finished school, finished wrestling. I'm sleeping because I'm exhausted, right? I'm sleeping on the couch. My best friend's over sleeping on the other side of the couch. And I get a phone call, like 08:00 at night. My mom's still not home from work, and it's the hospital. And like, hey, we got your CAT scan back.

0:10:25 - (David Pasqualone): And they told me over the phone, like, you have a tumor. You need to come in right away. We think it's cancer. You need to come in right away. What's going on? And I was like. I was like, yeah, I'll call you tomorrow, get some booked. And I hung up. And then instantly I felt this relief, because all these years they've been telling me, nothing's wrong, nothing's wrong, nothing's wrong. I knew something was wrong, but I didn't hear. I'm a kid, nobody listens to me.

0:10:49 - (David Pasqualone): So I tell my best friend, I'm like, guess what? I'm like, you know, I'm always sick. He's like, yeah, it's like I actually have a tumor in my head. And they think it's cancer. And he turned white as a ghost. Because you remember the movie kindergarten cop?

0:11:03 - (Kevin Lowe): Yes, I do.

0:11:04 - (David Pasqualone): Sees me all the time and go, maybe it's a tumor. And then sure enough, it's a tumor, right? So he turned white as a ghost. Like, dude, it's okay. I'm like, you're fine. I'm like, this is great news. He said, number one, I'm not crazy. And number two, if I die, at least all the money problems will be solved for my mom, and I'm going to be in heaven. I don't care. I'm going to be with God forever. I'm happy. So I totally had peace. And I went and I took a nap, and it was great.

0:11:30 - (David Pasqualone): It was fantastic. So then my mom comes home, I tell her, and she flips out. I'm like, what are you flipping out about? I'm either going to be okay, I'm going to go see God, or you're going to be rich. It's the end of it. So, long story short, they go in, and I'm going to fast forward through all this. The dude at the hospital, the one that they found it, okay? Dude butchered me. Like he was trying to take biopsies, putting cuts in my roof, my mouth, and just butcher job.

0:11:56 - (David Pasqualone): And then he's like, shaking, literally shake. Because all these doctors know, oh, damn, we're screwed. This kid's been telling us years prior, then he stopped coming, now months. Something's wrong. We didn't take him seriously. This is total malpractice. And he's shaking. He's like, hey, do you mind if we send you to Boston? And remember, I'm so poor that I didn't have insurance or anything. And so when I turned 18, I was on my mom's insurance until 18. But then once I turned 18, I didn't have anything, so they put me on the state insurance.

0:12:28 - (David Pasqualone): And even though welfare and all the socialist programs in their true form, they're made to help people in this exact position while you need it, and then you work yourself out of that position. You know what I mean? Exactly. I was 18, and I had no insurance, so they gave me the best possible insurance. I was so thankful. And they sent me to Dr. William Montgomery, the head of the Ent at Massioner in Boston.

0:12:55 - (David Pasqualone): And this dude was world known. He's wrote books. He has. Has any ENT doctor listening now they probably know who Dr. William Montgomery is. He was flying to foreign countries to work on chics and princes and then coming back to work on a poor kid from Milford, Mass. So it was just great how God worked it out. Long story short, he's like, hey, this is what we think you have. We don't know. Death percentage for the surgery is over 50% easy.

0:13:23 - (David Pasqualone): He said, deformation is near 100, retardation is 80. I mean, they were being just legit with all the stats. When I was done, I was like, I'm good. Let's do this right. I'm like, kill me. And that is son. I had a private conversation with him. I said, hey, I know you can't legally make these decisions. I said, but I don't want to be 40 years old and my mom's changing my diapers because I'm handicapped.

0:13:46 - (David Pasqualone): I said, if things go south in the surgery, just snip, snip, cut something that shouldn't be cut, and just let me go home. And he just went at me and said, I promise. I said, good. We're good to go. Either send me to see Jesus or heal me. So I go into the first surgery. It was brutal. It wasn't like a couple of hours surgery. It was a three day surgery.

0:14:05 - (Kevin Lowe): Oh, wow.

0:14:06 - (David Pasqualone): First day, you go in, they do an embolization, because the tumor was a size of, like, you'll see in the story. It kept growing back. So I think the first one was the size of a baseball with a tail down my throat. And they went in and they planned to break my jaw, deform me, do all these things. And when he was in surgery, so the first day they did embolization they go through your groin, they go up, they fill your. Basically, they fill the tumor and everything they're going to cut with superglue and plastic.

0:14:33 - (David Pasqualone): And when they're filling this with superglue and plastic, if you budge or move, you can have aneurysm, you can die. There's all sorts of bad things that can happen. So after they did this surgery, which was hours and hours and hours, you can't move for 24 hours afterwards. That Kevin, to date, is still. I've had crazy stuff happen that was the most painful thing ever. I mean, you can't move. You can't move your head, you can't move your back, you can't move your feet, can't move your hands. You don't want anything that's going to increase blood flow or pressure.

0:15:04 - (David Pasqualone): So as soon as that was done, they're like, what do you want to eat? I'm like, I want to take a shower. I took a shower and then I ate. And then the third day you have surgery. And I think my surgery was like 16 hours. But when he was in there, God just gave him the idea. So he cut out my palate. Your roof of your mouth, are you in touch with your tongue? Yeah, he just took off the right side of my palate, and he said as soon as they went in, the tumor just rolled out into his hand.

0:15:36 - (Kevin Lowe): Oh, wow.

0:15:37 - (David Pasqualone): It just, like, delivered. So the surgery still took. Like I said, I get confused because you're going to see another surgery. I don't remember if it was 14 hours or 13 hours, but it was a long time. I was in that room. Hundreds of stitches, but they didn't have to break my jaw, deform me. So I wake up and everybody is like, are you okay? Can you see? I'm like, yeah, I'm fine. And after a major surgery like that, usually you get blood transfusions and huge long. They told me I'd be in the hospital for 30 days or more.

0:16:08 - (David Pasqualone): Back then. They actually try to help you, not just run you home and.

0:16:13 - (Kevin Lowe): Yes.

0:16:13 - (David Pasqualone): So, long story short, I woke up, it was a Wednesday, and I got discharged Saturday. And during the surgery, I only lost 250 ccs of blood. Wow. My number one concern that was, remember back in the 90s, hiv was huge and non understood. They still don't fully understand it, but it really wasn't understood. And I was terrified of a blood transfusion. And they said, you lost less blood having a major surgery than most people losing a nosebleed. So I was like, cool.

0:16:43 - (David Pasqualone): So they discharged me on Saturday. And then I feel so good. This was stupid, but I was, like, mowing the lawn a week later, and that's really retarded, but that's the truth. So I just felt so good. It was years of not being able to breathe, years of not blood flow, so all that fatigue. The tumor was not only it was a benign tumor, they found out, but it was acting malignant. I'm going to show you how.

0:17:10 - (David Pasqualone): But it was eating away at all of my bone and my jaw, and it was sucking my blood supply, and it was putting pressure on my brain. And when I was 14, I couldn't breathe sometimes, and the doctor told me I had asthma. I'm like, I don't have asthma. I can go run around and I don't have any issues. It's when I get hot. So what happened is it would get hot and I couldn't breathe. So then I'd go in front of the refrigerator freezer, and I breathe in cold air, and eventually it would get better.

0:17:38 - (David Pasqualone): So what would basically happen is the tumor got hot, things expand, couldn't breathe. So looking back, it's almost humorous. I'm going through all the details. I don't know why, but anyways, so I go through, and then I try to go off to college, and then I start feeling run down again, like the same type of rundown three months later. So now we're in August, and I'm feeling just trash. And I go to see the doctor, and he's literally, again, he's overseas working on, I think he was working on a print.

0:18:08 - (David Pasqualone): And I get the other doctor, who, again, mass, general mass in ear. These are some of the best doctors in the world. But this guy was such a jerk. He was a scumbag. He's like, your tumor didn't come back. He's like, you're fine. He's like, you're having. Basically, he was saying, it's in your head, just like all these other doctors. And he goes, wow, you just were so sick so long. Your body's just balancing out. It doesn't know what to do, blah, blah, blah. And he made fun of me. And I looked at him, and at this point, I knew, no, nobody knows my body better than me.

0:18:40 - (David Pasqualone): And I might be a poor kid, and I thought I was stupid and idiot, and I did not have a high opinion of myself after years of being told you're worthless. But at that point, I was like, if I'm going to die, I'm going to die on my terms. So I looked at him, I said, listen, man, every time you order an MRI, you get a kickback for your Mercedes payment. I said, shut your mouth. Sign the paper and give me it and prove I'm wrong.

0:19:02 - (David Pasqualone): He's like, fine. It's like, I'm going to prove you're wrong and laugh in your face. I'm like, fine. And it was that hostile back then. I was 18. I had a girlfriend with me, and she was just, like, looking at him like, this guy's an ahole. And I'm like, yeah, this is what I've experienced my whole life, Dr. Montgomery. So I go back, and so I'm feeling, like, questioning myself again. Am I really sick? Is it.

0:19:25 - (David Pasqualone): I. What's that? Hypochondriac. Week later, I get a call and like, hey, this is Dr. Montgomery's office. You got to come in. I'm like, okay. So I get in the car with my mom and my girlfriend, drive the hour to Boston, sitting there talking. And the doctor's there, Dr. Montgomery, he's back. And the doctor who gave me the you're an idiot lecture is standing behind him with his head down, quiet. And Dr. Montgomery goes, Dave, you know your tumor was really rare. He's like, we've only seen a handful in recorded medicine. And when I say a handful, not a handful of the tumor I had, but a handful of the size and magnitude and the aggression.

0:20:04 - (David Pasqualone): And he know yours grew back. He's like, we don't know if it was like a barbell type effect. And we were so focused on one side, we missed the other. And I'm thinking to myself, as an 18 year old who have medical grade, that doesn't sound very reasonable, but we can't imagine it growing back that fast. He's like, it's almost the same size, and it's near the same position. We got to get it out. And I'm like, okay. I'm like, that's cool. And then he looks at the other doctor, and he's like, you have something to say? And the doctor, he's like, I'm really sorry. He's like, I just didn't think this was possible.

0:20:41 - (David Pasqualone): And I'm wrong. And I'm like, listen, man, I forgive you. I understand. It's an exceptional situation. I said, but if you've ever been on this side of the chair, every time you're told nothing's wrong, it makes you feel crazy. And if I had a real problem or if I had a fake problem, it's just going to get worse. I said, you got to do your due diligence and believe people. I said, especially if you have the history of proving there's something really wrong.

0:21:03 - (David Pasqualone): So Dr. Montgomery looks at him and says, I feel what he said, but basically, don't open your mouth again and stand there. And then he looks at me, and this is the number one dude in the world. He's like, dave, this guy have a lot of degrees. It's like, there's a lot of people out there who are more intelligent than me. He's like, but as many phds as we might have, he's like, nobody has more knowledge about your body than you.

0:21:27 - (David Pasqualone): He's like, I don't care if it's me. If you feel like there's something wrong, you pursue it, and you be your best advocate. He's like, because we're just men, and this is a practice, not a profession. He's like, you tell us what's wrong. You don't let us tell you what's wrong. And that is, like, for the listeners, that's a huge takeaway. If you know something's wrong, fight for yourself. Fight for what's right. Fight for your kids. Fight for whatever you need to fight for, but don't quit till you win or die.

0:21:57 - (David Pasqualone): That's how I look.

0:21:58 - (Kevin Lowe): Yeah. And, I mean, I would like to just add to that is. That is an attribute that makes a doctor amazing is a doctor who understands that. That is incredible. Standing there in one room, you have the total opposite of wow. So what happened with this second time?

0:22:25 - (David Pasqualone): So the second time they said, okay, dave, listen, you have a huge amount. Your palate's gone. You have a huge amount of your veins. It was a vascular tumor acting malignant. And when I say acting malignant, it was like dissolving bone. Right?

0:22:41 - (Kevin Lowe): Okay.

0:22:41 - (David Pasqualone): So he's like, we have to take it out again. But now your death rate is, like, 75%, whatever he said. And then he's like, your deformation rates basically 100%. We're definitely going to have to break your jaw and mandible, and you're going to have some issues. And then I'm like, okay, just do it. I said, just same deal as before. I don't want to be a vegetable. I don't want to be crippled. So just snip, snip. If you got a snip, snip.

0:23:06 - (David Pasqualone): Everybody makes mistakes. So we go into the surgery, they're sending, like, counselors to my room, and I'm like, I swear I'm fine. They're like, back then again, in Boston, even the policies I don't agree with. The thing I love about Boston is most people. If you actually interviewed people and took a checklist to see if they're, let's say, democrat, Republican, we'll keep it simple. Right? Okay. Most people in Boston say, I'm a Democrat, but if you looked at the value system, they're going to be a Republican, but they don't even understand what it means.

0:23:36 - (David Pasqualone): We were trained as kids. Democrat, good, working class, Republican, evil, rich, bad. So when they have policies up there, even the most, back then, at least sending a counselor to your room before surgery, they had good intentions. Right? Someone had good intentions. Now, 30 years later, things are very skewed, and a lot of people don't have good intentions. But back then, they were sending counselors to my room because they were trying to say, this 18 year old kid who could die or be deformed, he's going to need some kind of mental help.

0:24:07 - (David Pasqualone): But when I was there, I'm like, listen, I know God. I trusted him as my savior when I was 15. I know that no matter what happens to I'm me going to be with him in eternity. I know that if I live or die, it's his will. I know that no matter what happens, we'll adapt and overcome. Right? So the lady is like, yes, you're fine. She walks out of the room. So then the next day, I have that same surgery. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Monday, embolization.

0:24:31 - (David Pasqualone): Tuesday. The rest to let it dry. And then Wednesday again, 14, 16 hours, whatever it is. Well, this time, when Dr. Montgomery goes in, he has this idea. What if we take off his cheekbone?

0:24:45 - (Kevin Lowe): Oh, gosh.

0:24:46 - (David Pasqualone): So they cut my lips, like, underneath, between, I guess, your gums and your skin. And they pull my lip, like, above my head. It's like, basically, it's just skin. It'll snap back. And then they take a chisel and hammer and make a square window, a rectangular window in my cheekbone. And his theory is, he's 18. He's still growing. It'll heal. So he goes in, and then, sure enough, just like the first one, he can access the tumor and take it out through that window, just like he did the palate the first time.

0:25:19 - (David Pasqualone): And then he sews me back up. And this time, Kevin, I lost only 25 ccs of blood, which is not even realistic after the embolization. Remember I told you there's a bunch of the first day where they put the plastic and the superglue. They tell you you can have strokes and all sorts of issues and blindness and blah. Blah, blah.

0:25:38 - (Kevin Lowe): Okay.

0:25:38 - (David Pasqualone): I actually woke up from that. And you wake up and you can't move. Like, you can't move, you can't scratch, you can't do anything. And when I woke up, I couldn't see out of my eye, my left eye, and I was like, oh. And I was like, hey, mom, can you get the nurse? And I'm trying to stay cool because I knew my mom would flip out more than me. And I just had no vision in my eye. And I was like, God, I can't tell you what I prayed, I'm not going to lie.

0:26:07 - (David Pasqualone): It was just basically, help me. I don't understand. I don't want to be blind, but whatever your will is. And I remember crying, but it wasn't like, there's different types of crying then you can cry happy tears, sad tears, fearful tears. Maya was just like, frustration and helplessness tears. And when I cried, my vision came back, just washed it away. So my vision came back. And I know you and I, we've talked about this, just at that point, that was a different experience, of course.

0:26:35 - (David Pasqualone): So then I get up, same thing. I want to take a shower, then I ate, then I go into surgery, and then I wake up and there's a giant sign. And I mean, a giant sign. Like, remember when printers had the paper where it was on a ream and you had to tear off the little circles? Okay. The nurses and my family and friends made this sign that went like. It must have went 15, 20ft across the wall of the hospital. It said the luckiest boy in Boston. And then they all signed it.

0:27:01 - (David Pasqualone): Because when I woke up, I found out the tumor came out like it did. They didn't have to disfigure me. I had no damage that they knew of. And the surgery was a complete success. And like I said, I was discharged the next day.

0:27:16 - (Kevin Lowe): Wow.

0:27:17 - (David Pasqualone): Just incredible. It was all gone. Now look at some people have God and their outcome, and I can talk about, I don't know if we have time, but, I mean, I got sick when I was older, and I was sick for years from something totally different, and it was just agonizing pain for four years. Right? So God's going to plan, and I don't ever want to go through those days again. But looking back, I'm thankful for them because I learned so much.

0:27:38 - (David Pasqualone): But at this point, I'm 19, I wake up, says the luckiest boy. No, I'm 18, says the luckiest boy in Boston. And I'm back. So now I'm, like, going, I'm like, okay, well, I don't want to go back to college because I just had two major surgeries in a row. And my face is like, I got a hole in my palate, hole in my cheekbone. Wrestling is off the table because if I got hit, I could have real bad issue. I didn't have the facial, just stability, the structure.

0:28:04 - (David Pasqualone): So fast forward now we go from September, October, November, around December, I start getting sick again. Oh, no, man. This can't be happening. I'm like, no way. Even I'm like, there's no way I'm sick again. So I go in, talk to the doctor, take an MRI with contrast, and they're like, dave, it's back again. And this time we know it's not a barbell. Your body. They said, what happened? This tumor is only in men between the ages of twelve and 25.

0:28:29 - (David Pasqualone): It's a hormonal tumor. And your body, because it was there so long, they said, it's usually a small p sized tumor in your nose that causes nosebleeds. No big deal. They said yours was there so long because the doctors didn't listen to you, that it grew out of control and it's just become part of your body. There's like, we need to do radiation or chemo. And I'm like. And now I'm thinking maybe I should be considering other paths here, right?

0:28:57 - (David Pasqualone): So I'm like, okay. I'm like, let's look at the options. And I knew chemo was poison, so I'm like, I'm not going to do poison. Radiation causes cancer, and they want to radiate my head to stop a tumor.

0:29:10 - (Kevin Lowe): Yeah.

0:29:11 - (David Pasqualone): So I said, what's statistically, like, what's atritis the truest? What's got the best success rate for this type of series? Like, Dave, there's only been two people in recorded history. They're close to this. And he's like, I got to be honest with you. You're going to be in the record book. You're number one. I'm like, okay. I'm like, so we got new ground here, right?

0:29:26 - (Kevin Lowe): Yeah.

0:29:26 - (David Pasqualone): So I'm like, okay. Praying about it. And I said, well, you told me what you think. And he's like, I think radiation would be the best approach because we can basically pinpoint it and zap it. But it was in my face and throat. So he's like, we're going to have to do double the dose and do this. Basically, instead of doing something we do in 30 days, we do in 14 or 21 days they sped the process, because once you start getting radiation, you get sores and all sorts of other complications and.

0:29:57 - (David Pasqualone): Am I giving too much detail? I feel like I'm just taking a long time.

0:30:01 - (Kevin Lowe): No, I mean, this is your story.

0:30:05 - (David Pasqualone): Okay. Hopefully I'm not boring the listeners, because this all comes down to, honestly, God is good. He loves you, and he's going to get you through it.

0:30:13 - (Kevin Lowe): But absolutely, I got more questions once we get through this part. So, yeah, you keep going.

0:30:19 - (David Pasqualone): Okay. So anyway, so I have the radiation, and that's, first off, I'm claustrophobic. So every time I took an MRI, it just got more and more intensified. And now if you've ever had radiation on your head, they strap you to a chair. This is not a joke. They put a straw in your mouth, and then they pull, like, a fiberglass mesh over your face. So, you know, like in Star wars, return of the Jedi, Han solo stuck in the stuff.

0:30:43 - (Kevin Lowe): Yeah.

0:30:44 - (David Pasqualone): They basically pull a mesh over your face and mold it to your face, and then they proceed to plaster you, and the whole process takes almost an hour. So they have me strapped to a chair, breathing through a straw. And remember, I can't breathe through my nose because I have a tumor in my head. So any kind of drainage or drip, I mean, I'm like, seriously, I could have real issues in that chair. So I'm claustrophobic. The whole thing was just terrifying. And then every day, twice a day, I had to go to Boston to get zapped for.

0:31:14 - (David Pasqualone): I can't remember. It was 14 or 21 days. I just remember it was around. I finished on Valentine's day, actually, in 96. So whatever I did, I started in January, and I finished right before Valentine's day, because I remember I was dropped down to, like, 133 pounds, and I couldn't eat. But I remember having, like, valentine's day just thinking, okay, this is over. This is done. So they do the radiation, and at the same time, I was so sick, I started going to an alternative medicine doctor, and he did something called contact reflex analysis, where basically his assistant puts her hand on your shoulder, and then she puts her arm up. And then they ask your body with the energy, hey, what does he need? Or what's wrong? And the arm drops. If it's weak, it stays strong.

0:32:01 - (David Pasqualone): And at first, this sounded ridiculous, but I'm like, what do I have to lose, right? And then I asked the guy, I said right up front, I said, listen, by what power do you do this? I said, I don't understand electricity, but I use electricity every day, I don't understand how an engine works fully, but I use a car every day. I said, by what power do you do this? God or Satan? He's like, no God. I believe in God. I'm a Christian. I've trust him as my savior.

0:32:22 - (David Pasqualone): He's like, I'm using the energy that God created to identify what's wrong with you. Like, okay. I'm like, if it's Satan, tell me. I'm going to die with, I'm not going to use you. I said, but if it's God, we're good, right? So I'm just like 19 at this point. I'm just trying to. As long as I don't dishonor God, I could care less. All I care about is honor God. And then he does this, and then the radiation.

0:32:44 - (David Pasqualone): Nothing was really happening afterwards. And, like, talking about doing more or putting me on chemo. So then I see this guy and I go on all these herbs, and again, being poor, the alternative path is not cheap, usually, right? It's like, if you buy vegetables, it costs more than buying a box of Mac and cheese. But the Mac and cheese is going to kill you. The vegetables are going to cure you. I'm juicing now. Every day, I'm taking handfuls of medicine. Like, not medicine, herbs. I'm taking stuff that I remember at one point back then, I was taking this liquid that cost more an ounce than gold. And it was, wow.

0:33:19 - (David Pasqualone): Every day, if I could work, I worked. And I made money to pay for these supplements. But the key was getting rid of all dairy and sugar. And what doctors know? What anybody that knows anything about basic medicine, which I didn't know, because they don't tell you this in school, they don't tell you this in the media. But tumors feed off of sugar. And even the MRI dye, they put sugar in it and die. And what happens is it goes through your bloodstream, and then, guess what? The tumor absorbs it. And then that's how they can see the concentrated spots.

0:33:52 - (David Pasqualone): So this is like, not only a known fact, but it's how they diagnose a tumor. Right? But no doctors typically tell you, hey, by the way, cut out all dairy and sugar, because that feeds the tumor. Well, what happens if you starve it? It goes away. So at that point, I went through two major surgeries, radiation, and I was dying. Well, I got on this holistic diet and starting getting better and better and better and better and better.

0:34:20 - (David Pasqualone): And after three, four years, I started introducing foods. And now I eat like everybody else. Sadly, I eat crap, right? But my body got strong. I'm healthy and God blessed. And like I said, there's no healthier now than I've ever been. And the tumor continued to shrink, shrink, shrink, shrink, shrink. So, for the rest of my life, I guess, technically, there would be a tumor in there. But every time I took an MRI for the last 30 years, just keeps getting smaller, smaller, smaller.

0:34:51 - (Kevin Lowe): That's incredible.

0:34:52 - (David Pasqualone): Yeah.

0:34:54 - (Kevin Lowe): Incredible. So you started this whole journey when you found out about tumor when you were 18, correct?

0:35:00 - (David Pasqualone): Yeah, I found out when I was 18, yes. Because I turned 18 in March. I went to the doctor, and I remember I was diagnosed with this. They told me originally, it's a cancerous, malignant, inoperable tumor. You're going to die. That was the first diagnosis. And then they said, they got me to Dr. Montgomery. He's like, we need to get you into surgery right away. And I remember it was two weeks before my graduation.

0:35:24 - (Kevin Lowe): Oh, wow.

0:35:25 - (David Pasqualone): And I said, wait till after my graduation? Like, no, we need to do this now. You could die. I'm like, this is a vascular tumor, right? Like, yes. I'm like, this tumor bleeds, right? Yes. I'm like, listen, man, I've had this for years. I'm 18 years old. I've been playing all the sports with my friends, recreationally, including tackle football. I said, I box regularly. I wrestle competitively, and I've never had a bloody nose in my life. And look at it. I've broken it at least twice.

0:35:57 - (David Pasqualone): I said, I want to graduate. I want closure. I said, I hate school. I don't want to get better and have to go back. I am finishing school, even if I die. That was it. So I went, graduated, and then one week from my graduation, I was in surgery.

0:36:14 - (Kevin Lowe): Wow. So how old were you then, when you found the tumor a third time?

0:36:21 - (David Pasqualone): 19. Yeah, 95. March and 95 was my birthday. I found it in May, had surgery in June, had another surgery in September. So 96. Oh, I guess I was still 18. So everything happened when I was 18 because I was done with radiation by Valentine's day in 96, so I was just recovering when I was 19. It took me over a year to get even close to normal after all those surgeries.

0:36:48 - (Kevin Lowe): And what's I guess, incredible is how fast that thing would grow back.

0:36:53 - (David Pasqualone): Yes. And they told me something that was terrifying to me. So my whole life, all I wanted to be, and this is true, I never had a father. I never had a family. I just wanted to be a good husband and father, and I wanted to have a lot of kids. And they told me straight up, because this is a hormonal tumor, you're going to be one extreme of the other. You're either going to be super fertile or you're going to be sterile.

0:37:13 - (David Pasqualone): So now I'm like, in the back of my mind, I'm thinking, wait a second. I don't care about right now. Down the road, I want to get married and have kids. You tell me I can't have kids. Like, well, there's nothing I can do about it. So let's just focus on today. And thank God. I was the extreme of if I touched somebody, if I touched my wife, she got pregnant.

0:37:31 - (Kevin Lowe): Yeah, I guess that could be a good thing and a bad thing.

0:37:36 - (David Pasqualone): Yeah. No, I have my two kids, 21 and 20, and they're amazing.

0:37:42 - (Kevin Lowe): That's incredible. So one question that has come to my mind this whole time that you're sharing this journey is your faith. And you said that when you were 15. What led to that? And how did you come to know Jesus?

0:37:59 - (David Pasqualone): So that's actually a great story, too, because I grew up in an italian area, and everybody was know, what are you? Or Catholic? But my mom, she went to this really off the wall. People would call it charismatic church, but not all charismatic churches are bad. But this church was just out of their mind. It was like a cult. So between my birth and five years old, I had my mom taking me to this. Even at five years old, I recognized Kevin. I'm like, these people are crazy.

0:38:31 - (David Pasqualone): And I told my mom that I always thought kind of like an adult because I had to. And so I had my grandma, like, smuggling me to catholic church and going to mass. I had my mom taking me to this charismatic, crazy nut job church. So I always knew there was a God, but I'm like, I don't think God's in either one of those. And I remember having this little Bible on the shelf, like a Gideon Bible. And actually it was before it was Gideon association, but it was like, I forget the name inside of it. But basically they gave this Bible to my uncle when he signed up for Vietnam. He brought it home in his rucksack, gave it to my grandma, and then it ended up just because we live with my grandma on the shelf. So I remember when things were chaotic in my home, seeing this Bible and everything else would, like, vibrate and move and be chaos, but that would stay steady.

0:39:18 - (David Pasqualone): And I still have that Bible to this day, and I even crayon my name in it, right? So I always believed there was a God, but I didn't know God. And then when I was, oh, man, like ten to twelve, my mom started going back to church. And there was this pastor would always be there on the basketball courts when we were out there trying to talk to us. And he'd always invite us to youth group and come knocking on our door and we jump behind the couch and hide when the Jehovah witnesses come because we just associate these people with, if they come to your door, they're a cult.

0:39:49 - (Kevin Lowe): Yeah.

0:39:49 - (David Pasqualone): So all that's going on and then my mom stops going to church again when I'm 15, I'm always sick. I'm always being told I'm not sick. That was that pivotal point where I just stopped going to the doctors. But what was simultaneously happening is I thought I was losing my mind. Looking back now, I guess I was having what people would consider panic attacks. And I remember going to my mom and saying, like, hey, I'm going crazy. But what's amazing is, okay, actually just skipped a major step right before we stopped going to church.

0:40:21 - (David Pasqualone): When I was twelve years old, my mom was going to that church with that pastor who's always inviting us to youth group. I went to an event with them to see a gentleman named Tim Lee. And he was a soldier who had, he was a marine, had his legs blown off in Vietnam. And he preached on God's love and heaven and hell and what it is. And he said, if you haven't trusted Christ as your savior, when you die, you are going to hell where the worm dieth, not with a fire, not, you'll be tormented day and night, forever and ever.

0:40:53 - (David Pasqualone): Or if you trust Christ and you know he's the only way to save you and God loves you and wants that for you, he said, you'll have eternity and peace and joy with our Lord. So I went forward that night and that's when I trusted Christ at twelve years old to save me and I gave my life to him. But the first thing, the very first thing, the person who was like counseling me, working with me, said, how do you feel? I'm like, oh, I feel good. I feel happy.

0:41:20 - (David Pasqualone): And the dude interrogated, questioning me, where he made me feel like I did it wrong and I wasn't really saved. So I went from going down and I believe that is the day, the moment I got saved, I trusted Christ, but then immediately the seed was stolen and the joy was stolen and then I didn't know. And then my mom stops going to church. You talk about the perfect storm, right? Well, then I'm 15, and when I'm 15, I think I'm going crazy. But in my heart, God wasn't saying, go to a counselor. Do this or that. It's like, you need to go to that church. You need to go to that church. So I go to that church, and it's a Wednesday night. I remember my mom wouldn't even go in. She drops me off, and I go in, and, Kevin, I don't know the difference between a Bible and a hymnal. I'm sitting in the back row, because at school, you want to sit in the back, away from everybody.

0:42:07 - (David Pasqualone): And the pastor is preaching. And it's a small church in New England, maybe like, 50 people there. When the pastor is preaching, I'm raising my hand and asking questions. Nobody said a word. And he just, without missing a beat, he's like, well, let me show you where that is in the Bible. And I couldn't even follow. I had to just listen, right? And then Sunday morning, I went back, and then I went back Sunday night and then Wednesday. So this went on for, like, three weeks, and not one person at church did anything but be kind to me and smile at me and love on me.

0:42:38 - (David Pasqualone): I remember it was a Thursday night after, like, a youth group. And so I'm, like, learning and growing. I don't really understand. And the pastor's walking up this gravel hill, and it's Pastor Carl coon, by the way, and his wife, Bev. Amazing people still talk to them to this day. I thank God for them. He puts his arm around me. Kevin. He says, dave, so it seems like you have a lot of questions. I'm like, yeah, I do.

0:43:01 - (David Pasqualone): He's like, sadly, we don't have a lot of men in our church. And he's like, the men we do have are really busy with work and family and their life responsibilities. He's like, but I got a friend over in Bellingham. It was like, a town over, like, 20 minutes away, which seems forever. When you're 15, you don't have a car, right?

0:43:18 - (Kevin Lowe): Of course.

0:43:19 - (David Pasqualone): He said, I got a friend, and he's like, he's willing to come out here once or twice a week and meet you and disciple you. Does that sound like something you'd want to do? What's disciple? And he's like, oh. He's like, basically sit down with the Bible and answer the questions you have. I'm like, oh, yeah, that sounds awesome. So this guy Tony Stephanini comes out, and he came out twice a week, regularly sat down with me. I got assurance of my salvation when I was 15 changed my life completely at that point. So all that fear and the panic attacks, everything just went away.

0:43:50 - (David Pasqualone): Everything, like a bunch of the anxiety and hostility and anger all just went away. God just dramatically changed my life. And then my friends would come to the Bible study with me, and they trusted Christ as their savior, and it was just a beautiful thing and a beautiful time, and it changed my life. So that's how I got saved. So that's why when I was 18 and they found this tumor, I didn't care. I knew 100%. God's in control. Everything happens for a reason, and absent with the body, present with the Lord. So that's kind of my story.

0:44:19 - (Kevin Lowe): Wow. Can I just say, though, that the fact that in such a short period of time after becoming saved, to have that level of faith of an 18 year old boy faced with a life or death scenario in the way that you discuss it and the way you talk about it, of being so sure, like, well, the worst case scenario is I get to go to heaven. And I think that's pretty remarkable.

0:44:52 - (David Pasqualone): Thanks. This isn't super fake humility. It's God. I thank you for saying that. I understand what you're saying, but I think the key is God talks about childlike faith. I'm too stupid to know any better, so I just knew that God made promises. God keeps promises. The Bible never lies. God never lies. So I got nothing to fear.

0:45:13 - (Kevin Lowe): Yeah.

0:45:14 - (David Pasqualone): Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged. The Lord will be your God. He will be with you wherever you go. Joshua one nine. That's actually in front of me on the wall right now.

0:45:24 - (Kevin Lowe): Yeah. I love it. So after all of this, with the tumors and everything, what path did you take? Did you go into the service? Not what happened.

0:45:39 - (David Pasqualone): No. So what's ironic is, when I'm 18, I'm dating this girl after high school. So everything happened after I graduate, right. Okay. So I backslide into sin there. So I'm still living, right? So to speak, in all the christian circle ways. But now I'm having sex out of marriage with this girl, which I know is wrong every single time. I feel guilty and sick every single time. And nobody was really saying anything.

0:46:08 - (David Pasqualone): And it doesn't matter what anybody says. It matters what God thinks, right? So I'm dating this girl, but my mindset is, I know saints trying to trick me, and I know I did this, and it's like, why already did it? Why not do it more? So I'm just self justifying, right? But now what it's doing is it's like compiling these doubts. It's like sane couldn't get me one way, so now he's trying to get me with another.

0:46:33 - (David Pasqualone): So damage for me to go to the military, I'm damaged goods, that's off the table. For me to go wrestle, that's damaged goods, it's off the table, right? So now it's like, well, what do I do with my life? At that point, I thought I was a poor, stupid moron, had no value. So do I get a job? Do I get a trade? Do I go to college? Do I just go help a missionary? Well, then I'm like, dude, you're not right with God. You're going to go curse the mission field you don't want to do.

0:47:00 - (David Pasqualone): So that same pastor, he brought me to this college presentation for Pensacola Christian college and Pensacola College, not only did I go there, not only did I have a great experience, not only did it give me friends for life, not only did I get career opportunities for life, not only did I end up going back teaching there, I'm telling you how I thought at 19, I'm like, well, I can go there for a year, try to get right with God. Then I'll leave and go to a real college.

0:47:27 - (David Pasqualone): Yeah, that was how I was thinking, because it was a christian college and at that time it wasn't accredited, but they had a killer education that's better than most Ivy League schools, to be honest with you. So I end up going down there and I'm still recovering like I'm still sick as a dog. I'm still juicing every day. I'm barely 145 pounds, but that's kind of where I went. And then once I got to college, that's when God really started working on my heart and my mind and teaching me and growing me and toughening me up, actually, that's when it was like I was in the middle, and the middle is the worst place, the lukewarm, the gray.

0:48:06 - (David Pasqualone): So you can be at heathen and you're cold, you can be on fire for God, and you're hot. I was just lukewarm. And the more I was at that school, I had people who didn't believe in God tell me I was a nut. People who were christians tell me I wasn't good, and I'm like, going crazy. I'm like, man, I just can't figure this thing out. So I end up going to college, and then to this day, we're still friends. Seth Meyers, he's a missionary to Africa, one of the greatest humans I've ever met. He was actually on my podcast. You can check it out. Remarkable stories.

0:48:39 - (David Pasqualone): And Seth comes up to me before we had know four times a week, and he's like, dave, he's like, here's a flyer for neighborhood bile time. He's like, you got to check it out. He's like, you'd be amazing at it. He's like, you should be an evangelist this summer. And I'm like, what? I'm a mechanical engineering major. I don't even think I'm right with God. I'm like, this ministry is for preacher boys, and I'm going to curse it, man. What are you crazy? It's a.

0:49:07 - (David Pasqualone): Just promise me one thing. I'm like, what do you want me to promise you? Because I won't promise unless I'm going to keep it. Promise me you'll pray about it just once. Like, whatever. And I'm like, I will pray about it, Seth. And to back up, like ten minutes in this conversation, I was engineering, so I was always barely making it from class to class to chapel. I was always late because that's just the nature of what you do. You have a 5000 pound backpack. You have to switch it once to another 5000 pound backpack. And you're running around, you're in classes all day, in labs at night. But this is no joke. It was the only time that whole semester, my freshman year that I was early for chapel.

0:49:47 - (David Pasqualone): And then I run into Seth. He hands me this flyer. So I'm like, okay. I go up to my seat. I remember I was in the balcony. Kevin, I'm laughing. I'm about to cry. I remember sitting in the balcony saying, God, I think this is totally ridiculous, but I prayed. I told Seth I'd pray. Please, just let me hear your voice. I don't want to hear Seth's voice. I don't want to hear anybody's voice. I don't even want to hear my voice. Just. What's your voice?

0:50:11 - (David Pasqualone): What do you want me to do this summer? And it's a. It was. I think it was like a Friday chapel or Wednesday. I don't remember. I remember just. I lift my head, we go, we start singing. The pastor comes up. And the cool thing about Pensacola Christians, they get pastors from all over the world, and they come in to speak at these chapels. So you hear just amazing preaching all the time, right? From great men and from the Bible from all over the world. Guess what the guy preached on that day? Kevin.

0:50:38 - (Kevin Lowe): What?

0:50:39 - (David Pasqualone): What are you going to do this summer? So I'm like, son of a gun. So I go back and I'm thinking about it and maybe it wasn't a Friday, but I remember it was a Friday that I basically broke down and I said, fine. This was before email and cell phones. I had to go to my room, use a phone hook to the wall, and I call the number of the brochure and I'm thinking, I'm smart. It's like 830 on a Friday night.

0:51:14 - (David Pasqualone): Nobody's going to be working. I'm going to clear my conscience, leave a voicemail. They're never going to call me back. And then I hear never heard bio times. Brother homeshire, how can I help you? And ends up back then it was like almost 50 years of that ministry. They had one evangelist that wasn't a preacher boy and I was number two. And brother homeshire ended up being like my grandfather, him and brother Tudden and Paul Romig and even Jan, his daughter, and mahomesure, his wife. Just some of the most loving, godly humans I've ever met.

0:51:49 - (David Pasqualone): I got to grow and be with them. And the first summer, he actually kept me back at the office. So I wasn't an evangelist. I went to be evangelist. I ended up being a workhorse. And I didn't understand it then, but again, I just had a trust. And then the second summer, I went back and I was an evangelist. And so evangelist means I just go church to church. And I work with the teens and hang out with them and tell them about Jesus and get them engaged and hopefully put them on a path to just see God's love for them.

0:52:21 - (David Pasqualone): So that's what I did. And so Seth handed me that flyer, told me to pray, just set me up for a changed life. And then that's my whole life changed. And I got just. My passion was God and just moved forward.

0:52:36 - (Kevin Lowe): Wow. What one heck of a testimony. My gosh, man, I love that. Isn't it just awesome how God can work?

0:52:46 - (David Pasqualone): Yeah. The older I get, the more I see and listen. There is a place for what we call church, right?

0:52:54 - (Kevin Lowe): Yeah.

0:52:54 - (David Pasqualone): But we have religious circles that aren't godly at all. And we have a lot of social structure that even within the church is so backwards and warped. And why I'm saying all that is we've got God in this box that he has to work a certain way or it's not God. Man, you go read your Bible, Old Testament, new cover to cover. God is consistent and God is love and God is goodness. But he doesn't work the same. He's God. He doesn't have to, but by faith, hebrews eleven. By faith, by faith, by faith, through every dispensation or time period. That's the common thread.

0:53:30 - (David Pasqualone): Faith. For with a heart, man Booth leaveth unto righteous with a mouth. Confession is made of salvation. So everyone who's trusted Christ has done so through faith. I had somebody on my podcast I just released two days ago, Lena Sabula. She was sex trafficked and raped and a prostitute and a heroin addict for 20 years. You know how she got saved, Kevin? How her unemployed or her bodyguard was unemployed and needed a job.

0:54:02 - (David Pasqualone): He was a jew who got saved and was a Christian. In Canada, he becomes a bodyguard for a prostitution ring. And for two years, he told her how much God loves her, and he treated her with dignity and respect, and she got saved. And now her whole life has changed. And you can check that out. The remarkable People podcast, the Lena Sabula story. Wow. If you ask the know, am I encouraging people to go work for prostitution joints? No.

0:54:34 - (David Pasqualone): Am I saying that's a normal outcome? No, but that's how God worked in her life. He sent a man that was saved from the jewish religion, was sold out for God, and just simply showed her love and told her about God's love. And that's how this woman gets saved. Now she's married with children, and the story is just mind blowingly remarkable. But what I'm saying is God doesn't work in a box, and we shouldn't try to put him in that box, because God is God.

0:55:05 - (David Pasqualone): So the characteristics of God are always the same. And if something's against the Bible, it's not God, but we should be. As christians. What I pray all the time is like, God, help me to hear your voice and discern it. Like, it talks about the shepherd and sheep and how a sheep know their father's voice. Man, I hope my heart and mind and ears are always attuned that I clearly hear my father's voice and I'm not being deceived or I'm not missing it.

0:55:30 - (David Pasqualone): But, yeah, so just if you're listening out there, you should be praying to God. That's how we talk to God. And when we read our Bible, that's normally how God talks to us, but sometimes he talks different ways. So just make sure you're listening, and then funnel everything back through prayer in the Bible. And if it's true, there's never going to be a contradiction in the Bible. Yeah.

0:55:51 - (Kevin Lowe): I love it. How does life look for you today.

0:55:54 - (David Pasqualone): Other than having the sniffles from this cold I had for two and a half weeks. Great. No, I mean, seriously, there is a lot of more of my story. Again, I got sick, critically ill, went through a horrible, horrible divorce. But God was with me, and I know we're running out of time. I got to go. You got to go. Today, I'm probably healthier than I've ever been. And when I say healthier, my relationship with God is good.

0:56:19 - (David Pasqualone): My relationship with myself is better than it's ever been. My relationship with those around me is the best it can be. Like, I do my best. Not that I'm perfect or not that I'm not annoying to people or cause them pain, but it's not conscious. And even though it might happen, I try to fix it if I did something wrong. But financially, business is good. Our podcast, a remarkable people podcast, is a top 1% podcast. We knew it for over four years.

0:56:46 - (David Pasqualone): We have national affiliates now. I love it. I don't know if you do affiliates, Kevin, but most affiliates are thieves. They use you and they steal, and they don't ever pay you a commission. We have my pillow as our top sponsor. And not only are they amazing, quality american products, right, not only does that company stand for God in America, not only do they give our listeners up to 80% off everything they buy, so anybody who uses the promo code. Remarkable, Kevin. They get up to 80% off everything they buy@mypillow.com.

0:57:21 - (David Pasqualone): And that's like, sheets, pillows, blankets, slippers. I mean, mattress toppers. There's 250 products, right? So they're giving our listeners an amazing deal. They have an american employee owned company that's growing, and then every time somebody buys something, our podcast gets more supported so we can reach more people with the gospel. So it's just, like, mind blowing to me that I get to record, like, you episodes that are going to hopefully reach people, connect with people, and help them know God loves them and help them grow, right?

0:57:50 - (David Pasqualone): And then at the same time, it's being funded while people who are listening are saving money, while the company selling the products is making money so they can take care of their employees, and then our podcast is being supported. So I'm in kind of a place of awe right now. It's like I'm getting paid to tell people what God's love. This is pretty great.

0:58:15 - (Kevin Lowe): Dude. I absolutely love it. And, I mean, I do have to give a shout out.

0:58:20 - (David Pasqualone): Yes.

0:58:20 - (Kevin Lowe): My pillow. That is what I slept on last night. Their sheets. Their pillow. Everything. So, yes, absolutely. Shout out to the my pillow guy.

0:58:30 - (David Pasqualone): And the thing is, Kevin, I won't promote a product unless I use know first. And I use my pillow for years. And I have actually an episode with David Harvitz where he's a physical therapist, and I had this knot for, like, three years, and he's. You're like, you're one of the people that need a new pillow. He's like, get him my pillow. And it was part of the process of healing that knot that went away after three years.

0:58:49 - (David Pasqualone): So I believe in the product, and I'm telling you, I sleep on them every night. I got the mattress topper like you. I got the sheets, I got the pillow, I got the slippers. They're freaking amazing.

0:59:00 - (Kevin Lowe): Even the slippers.

0:59:01 - (David Pasqualone): I even have the slippers. And then I bought, like. So I went out and I bought my girlfriend. Her daughter had a baby, so I went, and my pillow has these great kids pillowcases with really bright, vibrant colors and, like, bible verses on them.

0:59:18 - (Kevin Lowe): Oh, wow.

0:59:19 - (David Pasqualone): Like Noah's ark and stuff. And they're on clearance. So those are, like, the 80% off products. And then they ran the special for free. I think they're still running it. So if you use promo code. Remarkable. Not only will you get 80% off, but you get free shipping right now. Right? So it might end by the time people hear this, but it's awesome. So when I ordered these, I thought, oh, well, those are pretty expensive, but they get 80% off, and it's like, okay, I'll go ahead and order it. So I ordered two of them. I thought it was just a pillowcase I was ordering. I got a little mini, my pillow and a pillowcase that fits it custom.

0:59:52 - (David Pasqualone): It was the cutest thing in the world, man. So now, like, little Max, he's got a little Bible pillow and a little my pillow, and they're just really legitimately great products. I sleep better, everybody. I know some people hate the pillow. Some people love the pillow, right? It depends on your body type. But when you try those sheets, do you love your sheets? Are they not ultra comfortable?

1:00:12 - (Kevin Lowe): Oh, they are insane. I love your story. I love the faith aspect. It's just absolutely incredible. Thank you for sharing it with me and my audience today. You are amazing guy, and thank you for being here.

1:00:29 - (David Pasqualone): Oh, man. Kevin, it's always a pleasure, and I look forward to having you on my podcast soon. And that's it. If anybody needs anything, reach out to me at that's. You can hit the contact us page and that is the number one way to get a hold of me. I know a lot of people are on social media, which I am, but man, that's all I do all day for a living. I'm a marketing and sales consultant. So if you want to get hold of me, send me an email and usually within 48 hours, I'll get back to you.

1:00:54 - (Kevin Lowe): Yeah, fantastic. Well, I will be sure that that is inside the show notes for easy access. Dude, you are amazing. Thank you. And to you, my listener, thank you as always for being here on the. You know, David is just another guy who reminds us of just how good people are. The greatest thing about this podcast is that we get to meet people. I get to meet people all over the world who I otherwise would have never even known existed, and yet I get to meet them. I get to bring their story to you.

1:01:27 - (Kevin Lowe): And I feel like that does us all a whole lot of good. My friends. Get out there and enjoy the day. This is Kevin Lowe with grit, grace, & inspiration!