Jake Haendel knows something isn’t right—his body and mind feel disconnected in a way he can’t explain. That realization hits hardest at the worst possible moment... in the middle of getting arrested for smoking heroin while driving. But the real punishment isn’t the cuffs or the charges—it’s the diagnosis that follows. Doctors give him six months to live. A death sentence. And the clock starts now. Content warning: Drug use/abuse, addiction, medical trauma, serious illness, paralysis/coma, death & dying, emotional distress & mature content. Resources can be found on our website, blinkthepodcast.com Blink is part of The Binge - subscribe to The Binge to get new episodes of Blink one-week early and all episodes completely ad-free. Just Hit ‘Subscribe’ at the top of the Blink show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com. The Binge – feed your true crime obsession. Find out more about The Binge and other podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices . . . . . Hosted and produced by Corinne Vien Co-created by Jake Haendel Original composition by Michael Marguet Edited by Mitch Huckaby Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Chapter 1: What are the content warnings for this podcast?
Blink is intended for mature audiences as it discusses topics that can be upsetting, such as drug use, sexual assault, and emotional and physical violence. Content warnings for each episode are included in the show notes. Resources for drug addiction and domestic abuse can be found in the show notes and on our website, BlankThePodcast.com.
The testimonies and opinions expressed by guests of the show are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of myself or affiliates of this podcast. Any individuals mentioned in the episode are presumed innocent until proven guilty in the court of law unless explicitly stated otherwise. Imagine being told you have six months to live.
You have a terminal progressive disease that's eating away at the white matter of your brain. You'll soon lose your ability to speak, walk, feed yourself, and eventually, you'll slip into a coma and die. No one has ever survived this. Surely you won't either. As the months progress, the doctor's warnings come to fruition. You slip into a pseudo-coma, laying there in total darkness for months.
The nurses chat about their bad dates in front of you, flip through television channels, and discuss the certainty that your death will soon be here. They don't know that you can hear them. They're certain you're no longer in there. Friends and family visit less and less.
Now your only visitor is your wife, a wife who is certain you'll never recover and who begins to whisper strange admissions in your ear. It is here, helpless in your hospital bed, that you realize what may have gotten you here in the first place. The scariest thing in your room is no longer the potential of dying, but rather the person sitting right next to you.
Let's get into this, man.
This is Jake Handel, in the building where he and I first met. We lived in the same apartment complex in Boston. I had walked onto the elevator and asked how he was doing, a cordial hello to a neighbor I didn't know.
Not good.
This sort of raw and honest answer describes Jake well. While Jake didn't feel great in that moment, what he was accomplishing was miraculous. For the first time in four years, Jake was standing, holding onto his walker, hands gripped and arms strained. The problem being, he was only supposed to go a short distance. And now, he was stuck alone in the elevator.
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Chapter 2: What happens when you receive a terminal diagnosis?
As I opened the center console, I'm trying to put the stuff into it. It was like my brain froze and the connection that my brain was telling to move the arm and the hand to put it away. It wasn't working. So I'm, like, kind of frozen with all this drugs and paraphernalia in my hand as a cop is walking to the window. He didn't even say, like, do you know why I pulled you over?
He was just like, man, you're driving like a... Like a psycho, what's going on? And then like stops and he's like, what's that in your hand? And I'm just kind of like, uh, uh, uh, uh, like I couldn't even formulate sounds. And then my brain did something else weird. He didn't even ask me for my license, but I was fixated on getting him my license and And I'm like, oh, just, like, hold on.
I'm just looking for my license. And I start, like, reaching under my seat, which obviously I've dealt with cops a lot. And I knew this was, like, a horrible idea.
Right.
Because he thinks I'm probably reaching for a weapon. And I knew he was very nervous. I'm freaking out. Like, stop moving around. But even though I knew all this, I could not control... anything. He took out his gun and he's like, stop moving right now.
Jake is extremely nervous and he knows he's in a dangerous situation. No longer in control of his body's movements, he's worried he'll soon be a headline on the local news. 28-year-old shot during traffic stop in Westboro, Massachusetts. But no matter how much he concentrates on sitting still, he can't.
The officer radios for backup and multiple unmarked police vehicles arrive quickly to the scene.
I get ripped out of the car by like six cops and like thrown on the ground and handcuffed. And I'm like, whoa, whoa, whoa. I'm not a bad guy. Like, I'm not trying to cost her. Like, I'm sorry.
Jake is handcuffed and thrown into the back of an officer's SUV. He watches from the cruiser as other officers search his car. What Jake does next surprises him.
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