“Rise, and Fight Again”

CJ, host of The Libertarian Institute, delivers a raw and deeply personal update on the unprecedented string of health crises, family losses, and emotional toll that have defined the past two months. His wife endured a rare spinal fluid leak requiring emergency hospitalization and a risky procedure, followed by the sudden death of her mother from a rapidly progressing kidney infection. Just days after her mother’s passing, CJ himself was hospitalized with severe diverticulitis and pneumonia, spending nearly a week in excruciating pain in an overcrowded ER hallway. Despite being discharged without pain medication, he returned home to immediately resume caregiving for his wife, who was also in worse health than usual. The ordeal has left him with lingering fatigue, cough, and brain fog, while also straining his mental health and financial stability. Amid the chaos, he expresses profound gratitude to his listeners for their outpouring of support during his hospitalization, though he remains in urgent need of help to cover mounting medical bills. He reflects on the resilience required to keep fighting through repeated personal disasters, drawing strength from the mantra of rising again after each fall, even as the world’s own crises—particularly a war he condemns as reckless and immoral—add to his burden.