MARK T. DEL ROSARIO
In 2006, after countless visits to the ENT and practitioners of new medicine, I was diagnosed with Tinnitus – an underlying condition from a circulatory disorder in my ear: a disease most common to DJs and those in the music industry.
I encounter bouts of vertigo whenever I travel. It seems that there’s a magnitude seven earthquake outside the moment I wake up the very next day. I experience weekly massive piercing pains with both ears, an irritable ringing sound, and sudden hearing loss (as if I was in a black hole vacuum). You can’t cure Tinnitus – I have to live with this pain. It’s a cross you carry until the day you die. Life-changing is an understatement.
Only people close to me knew I had it. I tried all forms of natural medicine and yoga, but nothing helped. I thought I was going to be deaf eventually and felt like a 65-year-old war vet.
But 13 years later, with God’s love as my vessel of hope, I’ve opened a restaurant, finished my MBA, sold two successfully managed businesses, had a good run in a corporate environment, and became your friendly neighborhood “pare” (buddy)! 
To those who live with a clean bill of health – you are fortunate! But there is no excuse not to achieving the Everest of your dreams.
To those disabled like me – I am writing this to tell you that ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE firmly. I still suffer from this unfortunate condition – whenever I hold meetings, talk in public, or even do menial tasks (they say stress is one of the triggers).
I see Tinnitus as a blessing, for it taught me to push further. To never rest on my laurels or use it as an excuse to quit.
Life has been good to me, and my burning desire to make this world a better place stems from gratitude. I appreciate the things I have, the people I love, and the bold beyond.
Despite having dealt with a bad card, I made the most out of it. I extended a helping hand to make others better versions of themselves. Whether we had our ups or downs, I cheered them on with the hope that this sore thumb would cure.
If you see no evil, you hear no evil as well. Your success is my success. And winning together, beating the circle of adversities, is music to my ears, “pare”!
