surgery

Comedian Recovering From Brain Tumor Standing Up Against Odds

"It's tragedy now, but I'll turn tragedy into comedy."

His jokes will have you in stitches — but comedian Kyle Grooms is dealing with some actual stitches of his own.

"It's tragedy now, but I'll turn tragedy into comedy," he said.

A few weeks ago he was rushed to the hospital with a not-so-funny diagnosis.

"I had a seizure in front of my kids, in front of my wife and I had to be rushed to the hospital, and then they found a tumor in my left frontal lobe that was bleeding," Grooms said.

Grooms couldn't even hold a microphone, and it affected his speech, so Dr. Clinton Burkett and his team at Memorial Regional Hospital ended up having to surgically remove the benign tumor from his brain.

"I was so confident in Dr. Clinton Burkett. It was overwhelming," Grooms said. "This place, it has a heart. I've been getting emotional all week."

But his surgery clearly hasn't put a damper on his humorous spirit — Grooms even called himself "Frankenstein" as he had 24 stitches removed.

"Kyle is definitely the funniest patient I've ever had, and without a doubt, one of the people who was very appreciative of the surgery," Burkett said. "I got to pull some jokes with him as well, but mine were not as good as his were."

The beloved member of the Miami Comedy Scene travels worldwide and his fans have come out of the woodwork to show their support.

Grooms doesn't have health insurance so his friend created a GoFundMe page to raise money for his hefty medical expenses. It even touted donations from some big names in comedy.

"It blew up," he said. "Like Amy Schumer contributed, Chris Rock, Dave Chapelle, Michael Che..."

There will also be a benefit show for Grooms is this Friday at the Miami Light Box.

Thanks to doctors, Grooms will be back onstage soon doing his next standup set — proving that laughter is also the best medicine.

"It's life," he said. "If I couldn't do it, what would I do? I was so relieved ... thank God."

Contact Us