In college I went on a ski trip with a few of my buddies and tore my ACL and meniscus. I was a pretty avid skier — ski club in high school, church trips up to Michigan. Surgery at University of Kentucky, physical therapy at University of Kentucky, the whole thing.
There was a guy going through rehab at the same time. His attitude was basically: well, shoot — if I can't walk right now, I'm gonna work on my upper body, do a lot of crunches, whatever I can do. That's exactly what he did. He came out of that rehab looking like a golden god.
I came out a little defeated. A little negative Nancy. Built back a lot slower.
I still think about that dude and his attitude — what can I focus on, what can I do. And going into this, I want to carry that into this opportunity. I'm not duplicating that process. I want to come out of this better than I went in.
Fast forward to now. My surgeon got injured before my surgery and I had to switch to the other guy. The scheduling office called me to sort it out, and I just started talking — told her the whole story, what happened, why I wasn't worried, how I was thinking about it.
Come to find out, she schedules both of them. Their offices are right next to each other — they're best friends. And it wasn't just that phone call — we'd already met two or three times at the hospital, and again after a post-op. So she had context. She knew the whole background. This wasn't a first impression.
She stopped me at some point and said, "Rob, you're the most optimistic person I've ever had."
So when she said it, I took it as a collective thing — not just one conversation, but everything she'd seen from me across all of it. That's the part that meant something.
But part of me thought — wait, should I be more worried about this?
And then I thought about it honestly. I'm eating the right stuff. Working on gut health. Lifting. Getting protein. Getting sunlight. Grounding. Sleeping. Keeping my brain on good things — reading stuff that's actually worth reading. I'm doing everything I know how to do. There's not much left on the checklist.
Here's how I've been framing the surgery — and I told the scheduler this directly: before all this, my stomach was screwed up, which was wrecking my sleep. I couldn't get through a full night. That was affecting everything else. After Tuesday — after they cut the bad stuff out at 7am — the rest of my life is a full night of sleep and a stomach that works normal.
That's a net gain. That's what I wanted. This surgery is the bridge to that.
So why even think about the alternative?
Everything after Tuesday is the post cancer scare of 2026. That's the frame. That's how it works for me. Eat the right foods, skip the wrong ones, stay present, take care of my body.
Maybe positivity is a reinforcing thing. Maybe it'll show up in how I recover. I'd like to think it can be a testament for other people too — that the mindset you bring into something like this actually matters.
Part of it too is just how my brain works. It's easier for me to compartmentalize — to take things in more palatable chunks. What's the next thing? Right now it's simple: get it cut out. Recover. Get my strength back up. Then go from there. That's the whole list.
I like the odds of optimism.
With Thanks,
Rob Bergeron
Owner–Realtor at Award-Winning Winner Realty
PS: My brain's not going anywhere. I'll still be working through all of this — still repping clients as Realtor Rob, still serving agents at Winner Realty. Lately that's meant a lot of AI — giving agents the tools, showing them how to actually implement tech in their businesses. That's been the biggest interest from the Winner Gang.
HireMySub.com had a big day this week. Pedal to the floor from here. You're going to be hearing a lot more about it — cool things are happening with Red River Gorge, Nolin Lake, Lake Cumberland, Dale Hollow. The Good Neighbor Data Center work with HKS is going splendid.
OffMarket.deals — It's never felt more exciting. When you can systemize everything and make it all actionable, it gets pretty thrilling. First dip into AI Agents helping with operations.
And my brain's been spinning on Reject Rob — a dating app I've been working on for a long time. I'm realizing it's a lot more than a dating app. It can genuinely solve the third place problem. That one's been living rent-free.
I'm sure I'll be making a lot of music when I get back home too, lots of feelings. Come collaborate with me!
PSS: In my recovery I'll be aided by not one, but two new episodes of Widow's Bay on Wednesday. If you aren't watching it, you might be missing out — it's my favorite show of the year. Well written, great humor, great scares, great set and setting. Widow's Bay on Rotten Tomatoes.