SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – Former KCBS Radio Reporter Mike Sugerman is an award-winning radio and TV journalist who relocated to New York City a couple of years ago to be close to grandkids and work part-time at our sister station, WCBS Radio.
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But his plans changed when he underwent a high-risk surgical operation that went very wrong.
Since then, his message is simple: "Appreciate your life," he told KCBS Radio's Jim Taylor on Friday.
Despite what happened during his surgery in February, Sugerman is still able to make jokes about the situation. "I lost two of my best friends recently," he said. "We were connected at the hip."
Those friends – were his legs.
"To think it all happened in the blink of an eye," he said.
He became a paraplegic after he underwent a very risky open-heart surgery. Three days later, he lost the use of his legs. "I was one of the unlucky 5% – that we were warned about – that can become paralyzed even after a successful operation," Sugerman said.
It seems unlikely that he'll ever be able to walk again.
Since then, Sugerman has begun to rely more on his wife Janice, another former KCBS Radio Reporter, for assistance.
The two of them work together, and Sugerman again emphasizes his mantra: "Appreciate your life," he said. "If you've got two legs and control of everything below your waist – be grateful."
His outlook on life is still positive, and he hopes to look back on where he is a year from now and appreciate the progress he's made.
Sugerman first started working at KCBS Radio in 1984.
Ten years later, he transitioned to TV at KPIX. Over his storied career, he's won 10 Edward R. Murrow Awards and is a member of the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame. He is also a founding member of the Eyewitness Blues Band.
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