November 2019
“How was your 30th?” Levi Cranston asked his friend and former neighbor, Rhody Leyman, on the phone. “It was fun, but definitely could be better,” Rhody responded. “My friends and I got sushi, but I couldn’t drink because I’m on antibiotics right now.” “For another ear infection?” “Yes. Admittedly, I’m pretty frustrated because this is the fourth ear infection that I’ve had in eight months. So it’s pretty evident the meds aren’t really working.” “How do you feel right now?” Levi asked. “Right now, I feel fine. A little less energy than usual, but otherwise I’m okay. My ears are also a little sore. I am going in for an MRI next week to check my sinuses and Eustachian tubes. My doctor is thinking I may have an issue with my Eustachian tubes. I thought this was all over since I had my tonsils taken out,” Rhody said. “I would have thought the same thing.” “But I got my tonsils removed due to a separate issue. If I need to get surgery to get my Eustachian tubes dilated, then I’ll go for it. That’s what I think they may recommend. Or getting tubes put in my ears again.” “How many times did you have an MRI?” Levi asked. “For this issue? Or overall? This is my second MRI overall. I had that karate accident when I was 20, and then this one that’s coming up,” Rhody said. “I had one when I was in that car accident a few years ago. So much fun…..not.” “It wasn’t bad. The worst part of it is not being able to move much for a few minutes.” “Which procedure do you prefer?” “I don’t really care either way. Whichever one works better.” “That’s fair. How’s your hearing?” Levi asked. “Surprisingly enough, I can hear pretty well. When I had my most recent ear infection, I could actually hear my heartbeat in my ears, which was pretty annoying. Out of all the ear infections I’ve had in my life, this was a first,” Rhody replied. “I can’t imagine.” “What’s even more frustrating is that I’m overall in really good health. My ears are, at this point, the f*cking bane of my existence.”
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Hello everyone, and Happy Wednesday!
Today, I am going to talk to you about Levi Cranston's friend and hometown neighbor, Rhody Leyman, Levi, Jack Andrews, David Savino, and Asad Prejesh have known Rhody since grade school. * Although Rhody and Levi look relatively similar, they are not related. Levi’s hair is fake brown, Rhoda’s is lighter brown but not quite golden brown. * Rhody is left-handed. * He has struggled with depression and anxiety for a long time, and had at one point convinced himself that he was the reason for his biological mother leaving their family, despite his dad and stepmom telling him otherwise. * He is bilingual in English and Spanish. His stepmom is originally from Oaxaca and has learned from her firsthand. * Rhody was originally going to study mechanical engineering at a college in Evansville, Indiana. He fell in love with the campus, but ultimately changed his mind because he didn’t want to be too far away from his dad and stepmom since he has a very close relationship with them. * He decided to attend college in his hometown for a year and then transferred to a college in Chicago to study mechanical engineering. * Rhody suffered a blow to the head from a karate accident at the age of 20. After a CT scan and MRI, he just suffered a concussion and was told he could not do karate for six months. * Rhody did not play sports in high school, but he is an avid runner, and also likes to play soccer, rugby, basketball, tennis, kickball, volleyball, and baseball. * He has had ear tubes placed four times. Three times when he was younger, and the fourth time when he was 30 years old in early 2020. He had an intense vasovagal response after the fourth time since he was awake during the procedure. He tried to stand up and leave the room too quickly but became very lightheaded and nauseous and almost passed out. He had to stay in the room for another hour to make sure he was stable. * He has always had issues with his ears. His doctor believes that his eustachian tubes are slightly underdeveloped. Unlike most adults’ eustachian tubes that are typically more vertical, his are more horizontal, making him more susceptible to ear infections. * Rhody lives in the Williamsburg neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. * He has an orange tabby cat named Topaz. * Rhody has asthma, but it is very mild for him. * He is a huge foodie and likes to try new cocktails. * Rhody has always been interested in engineering since he was given some kid-friendly engineering toys for holidays when he was little. That is all I have for tonight. Have a great rest of your evening! November 2019
“I’m feeling so much better now,” Rhody Leyman said to his friend and former neighbor, Levi Cranston, over the phone. “That’s good. What did they say?” Levi asked. “Brain scan came back clear. They did that because I had issues with constantly hearing my heartbeat with my most recent ear infection, and they wanted to make sure that I didn’t have anything that could have caused that. Eustachian tube scan came back mostly clear. They said nothing serious showed up on the scan, but my Eustachian tubes are slightly underdeveloped.” “So what are they gonna do now?” “They’re going to do another round of ear tube placement. Hopefully that will work. If it doesn’t, I may need to get surgery on my Eustachian tubes eventually, which I’m hoping does not happen,” Rhody replied. “Yeah. This is your fourth time, right?” Levi asked. “Yep. And it’s gonna suck since I’m gonna be awake now. Apparently they don’t completely put you under when you’re an adult. I had my dad on the phone when my doctor was explaining everything to us.” “How’s Randy doing?” “He’s doing great. He and Estrella are going to Vegas in a couple weeks.” “Nice.” Summer 2019
Rhody Leyman and his friend, Graham Maggliardi, Kevin’s older brother, spent an evening on the rooftop of Graham’s Brooklyn, New York apartment building. They brought their lawn chairs and a few beers out and decided to contemplate life for an hour or two. It was just the two of them for the time being, so that was nice. “Also, my whole life, I’ve been struggling to accept myself for me. I think my biological mom is to blame,” Rhody said. “I kinda know the story but maybe not to that extent,” Graham replied. “Yeah. So I have three brothers on my dad’s side from a previous marriage. They divorced, and my dad quickly got with my biological mom. She had a story about where she couldn’t get married or she would lose her assets, so technically Jayne and I were both born out of wedlock. Doesn’t bother me so much now, since a lot of people go through that, but it somehow did a lot growing up.” “If you really want to get technical, all four of us kids were born out of wedlock also. My parents got married a few years after Kevin was born.” “Nothing wrong with that. As long as your parents are happy,” Rhody remarked. “Two completely different personalities, but yes they are,” Graham said. “Same with my dad and stepmom. They both mean the world to me, and were the ones who tried to convince me that I was not at fault for my biological mom leaving us. When I was a kid, I had myself pretty much convinced that I was the reason why she left. I had to go through countless rounds of therapy, and it still didn’t work.” “Do you know where your biological mom is now?” “Who knows? Last time I was curious, she was in rural Louisiana. Chances are she’s not there anymore. Jayne and I decided to do a DNA test to see if there was anyone else related to us other than this girl named Caitlyn, who we don’t know at all. And it turns out our biological mom has six other kids with five to six different guys. One of them is a year older than Caitlyn, who I think is 25 or 26.” “How did you react when you found out?” Graham asked. “I threw up. I spent the next two to three days just feeling so sick to my stomach. Jayne didn’t feel much better than I did,” Rhody responded. “Do you know where the other kids are?” “All over Indiana and the south. And I checked their social media because I was curious, and their lifestyle pretty much matches my biological mom’s.” “At least you’re in a way better place than they seem to be.” “I wouldn’t go that far, but yes I’ve done a few things with my life that they haven’t. Estrella, my stepmom, has been more of a mother figure to me than f*cking Miranda ever dreamt of being.” January 2020
“My ears are killing me today,” Rhody Leyman said on the phone to one of his good friends, Levi Cranston. “Second day after ear tube placement?” Levi asked. “Yes. They’re so sore. I’m also very tired from the reaction that I had. Right after the procedure, I got very light-headed, almost passed out, but threw up shortly afterward.” “You just snuggling with kitty today?” “Yeah, I think so. A few friends are gonna stop by and we’re gonna watch TV. Otherwise, I don’t think it will be too eventful. I took yesterday off from work, and I’ll likely take Monday off as well,” Rhody replied. “You want us to come down to Brooklyn this month?” Levi asked. “That’s fine, or I can come out to Boston. Whatever works.” “We can talk next week if you’d like. You need to recover before doing much of anything.” “I should be fine by next week. I honestly would prefer to come to Boston, since there are a couple places I’d like to try.” “Sure. I’m sure everyone else would also be open.” January 2020
Rhody Leyman just came home to his apartment in Brooklyn, New York after having minor surgery to put tubes in his ears after a few ear infections over the past eight months. He could have worked today, but he thought it would be best to rest up for the day. His friends, Graham Maggliardi and Allen Harris, stopped by to check on him. Rhody spent the day on the couch wrapped in his fleece throw blanket with his orange tabby cat, Topaz. He had a cotton ball stuffed in each ear. “Hey Rhody, how you feeling?” Graham asked. “Not as bad as I thought I would. I was pretty nervous about this one since I knew I’d be awake during it,” Rhody replied. “My ears are pretty sore, and I’m exhausted, but otherwise I’m doing alright.” “That’s good. How many times have you had tubes put in?” “This will be my fourth time. I’ve always had issues with my ears and fluid buildup. And we all thought that was resolved when I had my tonsils removed.” “When did you get your tonsils removed?” Allen asked. “I was like sixteen, I think. And this is the first time since then. They checked my throat and my nose, and my tonsils and adenoids haven’t grown back. And everything else came back clear,” Rhody replied. “No other problems?” “No. And the ear infections I’ve had recently weren’t awful, like I could still work and live a normal life. My ears were just sore.” “In case you were wondering, we got you a smoothie while we were out. Wanna hang out here, and we could get pizza for dinner?” “I’m totally cool with that.” Summer 2019
Rhody Leyman and his friend, Graham Maggliardi, Kevin’s older brother, spent an evening on the rooftop of Graham’s Brooklyn, New York apartment building. They brought their lawn chairs and a few beers out and decided to contemplate life for an hour or two. It was just the two of them for the time being, so that was nice. “My heart has been beating very fast recently,” Rhody remarked after a few minutes of silence between the two of them. “You alright?” Graham asked. “I think it’s my anxiety and all. I’ve dealt with this most of my life, and of course my shrink knows about it. There’s one thing I’m not sure you all know about.” “What is it?” “I actually have two last names. I usually just go by Rhody Leyman, but my real name is Matthew Bacaluso-Leyman. Those are my dad’s last names as well,” Rhody remarked. “I like it,” Graham replied. “How are you feeling right now?” “I’m alright now. It happens every few hours. This afternoon, my heart was pounding so hard that I almost threw up because of it. I’m gonna tell my shrink about this when I speak with them again.” “You gonna play rugby tomorrow with everyone? Boyfriend Ayaan wanted me to ask you.” “I hope I’m up for it. Depending on how I feel, of course.” “Yeah, just let me know. I’ll hang out with you if you don’t.” “You got a deal.” January 2018
Rhody Leyman just moved to Brooklyn, New York with a couple of his friends from undergrad, Marty Maxwell and David Hancock. He had spent a day or two unpacking and everything. Then, he went out partying with his roommates and a few of their friends. A week after moving from Chicago, Rhody woke up with a sore throat and a headache. It was a Saturday, so he could at least spend this weekend to recover from the move and the partying. He slept the whole day, and he lay on his stomach. His ear was on his pillow, and with the congestion in his head, he could hear his heart beating softly through his ears. November 2019
“I’m feeling so much better now,” Rhody Leyman said to his friend and former neighbor, Levi Cranston, over the phone. “That’s good. What did they say?” Levi asked. “Brain scan came back clear. They did that because I had issues with constantly hearing my heartbeat with my most recent ear infection, and they wanted to make sure that I didn’t have anything that could have caused that. Eustachian tube scan came back mostly clear. They said nothing serious showed up on the scan, but my Eustachian tubes are slightly underdeveloped.” “So what are they gonna do now?” “They’re going to do another round of ear tube placement. Hopefully that will work. If it doesn’t, I may need to get surgery on my Eustachian tubes eventually, which I’m hoping does not happen,” Rhody replied. “Yeah. This is your fourth time, right?” Levi asked. “Yep. And it’s gonna suck since I’m gonna be awake now. Apparently they don’t completely put you under when you’re an adult. I had my dad on the phone when my doctor was explaining everything to us.” “How’s Randy doing?” “He’s doing great. He and Estrella are going to Vegas in a couple weeks.” “Nice.” |
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