Do you know of anyone undergoing major surgery? Checkout this article about how Steve Franzman used humor to get him through his heart transplant. The healing power of humor strikes again!
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By Sue Esptein of the Star Ledger
Steve Franzman believes laughter is the best medicine and he says he’s living proof.
The 72-year-old Monroe resident has had numerous operations, including a heart transplant 13 years ago.
“I needed something to get me through seven months in a hospital,” Franzman said, adding that “something,” was humor. Now, he goes around the state sharing his experiences with others.
He considers himself both a comedian and an educator. His performances are workshops, called “Humor as Therapy: The Power to Heal.”
“After my transplant, I went around talking to people about organ donation,” Franzman said. “I don’t talk about death, but the subject of organ donation can be a little overwhelming to people, so I started using comedy.”
He acknowledges his sense of humor plays best among senior citizens who can identify with his jokes about medical problems and illnesses.
“My audience is usually on multiple medications so they relate to me,” Franzman said. “I get into their psyche. I relate to them.”
One thing he has learned is that people want to laugh.
“They really do,” he said. “They are willing to give me the opportunity to make them laugh.”
Franzman was 58 when he went to work and had a massive heart attack. He had bypass surgery, but went into heart failure and was placed on the list for a heart transplant.
“I had the surgery and was out of the hospital two weeks later,” he said. “I spent seven months there. That was 13 years ago and I realize how blessed I am.”
Franzman said he went through a period after his surgeries and hospital stay of asking himself, “Why was I selected to live?” but realized “God meant for me to live.”
“What I do now is my thank-you note,” he said.
While he always enjoyed making jokes, he didn’t find his comic legs until about seven years ago when he and his wife were living in South Brunswick. He was one of the founders of a social group known as “The Village People,” made up of retired and semiretired residents.
“We met regularly for a while. Then, all of a sudden, the participation tailed off,” Franzman said.
The woman who organized the meetings asked him what they could do to attract more members.
“I told her I could get up and tell jokes,” he said. “She took me up on that.”
The woman told him to go to the South Brunswick Senior Center and volunteer. They decided he should do straight comedy for 40 to 45 minutes and a star was born.
“Humor has no cost, it makes you feel good and it has no side effects,” Franzman said. “It’s my gift to my audience. You can’t laugh and be depressed.”
He doesn’t read his lines, but memorizes his jokes and plays off his audience.
“I make up a lot of my humor along the way,” Franzman said. “I’m always looking for new material. All humor is an exaggeration.”
That’s why he observes his audience so he knows how to make them laugh.
“I talk about things in their lives,” Franzman said. “Their response is extraordinary.”
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