ON EDGE: Upstaged by health issues, Bernie Cardell is still running the show

Nine months into the COVID-19 onslaught, Bernie Cardell has found himself in a pandemic paradox.

The economic fallout of the new coronavirus cost Cardell, artistic director at Aurora’s Vintage Theatre, his day job as an accountant this spring, which sewed compounding financial insecurity on top of the virus’ ubiquitous insidiousness. He was indefinitely furloughed for the first time in his life, his theater was dark and his blood pressure was rising — literally.

In the middle of April, Cardell, now 46, went to his doctor to check in on his noticeably heightened blood pressure levels, a phenomenon he now attributes to the general anxiety that punctuated the start of this year.

“I didn’t have a job, I couldn’t go anywhere, the virus was happening — everything kind of stacked up on top of each other,” he said.

His medical providers ran a battery of tests, including a routine CAT scan, to ensure he was clear of underlying conditions possibly contributing to the recent increases.

“They were like: ‘That’s all clear, but we found this other thing,” Cardell recalled.

Doctors had discovered a small aneurysm in his brain. And while relatively benign, it would require surgery to mitigate.

“The last eight months have been just like no other time in my life,” he said in late November.

But despite the hurdles 2020 has thrown his way, Cardell said he believes he’s now in a better spot than when he started the year. He found a new job at Arrow Electronics in May, and he underwent a successful brain surgery to coil and control the aneurysm in October. And had it not been for the pervasive paranoia of the pandemic, Cardell said he may not have found his new gig, which he enjoys more than his old job, and more importantly, may not have caught the aneurysm before it burst.

“It’s been such a very stressful time,” he said. “But in other ways, discovering a brain aneurysm and getting it taken care of, getting furloughed from a job and then finding another job that was an even better fit was this kind of odd ball thing that happened out of nowhere.”

He’s now largely recovered from his recent surgery, though he likely won’t be cleared to drive his car until early next year. In the meantime, he’s continuing to work from home as he already had been on an every-other-week basis before the procedure, and running his Honda CRV in his south Denver parking lot every several days to keep the battery fresh.

And, of course, he’s still reading plays in preparation for an upcoming in-person season at the Vintage, whenever that may be. Cardell prepared and directed a performance of “Murderers” this fall before his surgery, though the show only saw one weekend of in-person performances before producers had to pull the plug due to rising case numbers. The show continued with several weeks of virtual performances.

“To me, closing is a better idea than getting someone sick,” he said. “When you stay open with an infection rate higher than 12%, you’re just asking for that to happen.”

Cardell is continuously looking for shows with few cast members — “Murderers” was composed of three separate monologues that featured just one actor on stage at a time — as well as those with accessible streaming rights, which can prove to be more difficult to secure than credentials for the actual stage.  He said he’s not holding his breath for a large musical in the Vintage’s larger theater anytime soon.

“The news of all of these vaccines is very encouraging, but I don’t think we’ll see big crowds again until next summer at the earliest,” he said.

Until then, Cardell is biding his time with his two cats, Baby Kitty and Kiki, riding the pendulum of emotions that come with unfurling the covers each morning.

“It’s definitely had its ups and downs,” he said. “People will call me and check in to ask about the surgery, saying ‘I haven’t seen you in two months, how are you?’ Well yesterday I was depressed, today I’m fine and I don’t not know what tomorrow will be.”

But like so many residents of the metroplex, Cardell said he feels more at serene than he did when he made that precautionary trip to the doctor in April. He’s no longer wiping down his groceries, and he’s maintaining his distance from others.

“Certainly, now we still have to be concerned as we’re in a worse situation than we were in, in terms of infections and deaths, but I feel personally like I have more control over things,” he said. “Like, OK if I maintain distancing, wear a mask, wash my hands; I know the steps I have to take to keep myself safe.”

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Whatever you’re going through, crisis counselors and professionally trained peer specialists are available to help. Call Colorado Crisis Service’s hotline at 1-844-493-TALK(8255). There is no wrong reason to reach out.

Reporter Quincy Snowdon can be reached at qsnowdon@SentinelColorado.com.