Celebrating our military heroes

My friend (and KWED Lawn & Garden Show host) Bob Grafe wrote a cool column today in the G-E about supporting military veterans everyday. I could not agree more with the premise. I thought that was a good opportunity for me to also talk about the local members of the National Guard who on Sunday returned home to Seguin after spending eight months in Iraq. The group served proudly and greatly. I’m proud of their dedication to service. I’m proud that they are willing to volunteer to protect our country. I’m proud that Seguin came together on Sunday to give them a heroes welcome in downtown Seguin. If you missed that amazing event, I’m going to post a few of those pictures below.

Soldiers talk to a cameraman in a staging area set up near Seguin City Hall.

The Seguin Police Department and the Seguin Fire/EMS Department Color Guard helps to lead the soldiers down Austin Street.

Members of the Texas Army National Guard's Bravo Battery, 4th Battalion, 133rd Field Artillery unit marches into Central Park.

State Representative Edmund Kuempel addresses the crowd in Central Park.

 

August 2010 at M.D. Anderson

I’ve spent the better part of the past two weeks in Houston at M.D. Anderson for follow up visits. I’ve had an endoscopy of my stomach last week, and a series of CT scans.

My CT scans did NOT show any recurrence of the colon cancer. So that treatment still seems to be working. Again, they say there’s a two year window which represents the time a recurrence usually would occur.

Today, I had an appointment with the surgeon to talk about the carcinoid in my stomach. The surgeon, Dr. Mansfield, actually wasn’t here today (a scheduling mix up that I contributed to). Anyway, Dr. Manfield’s PA, Andria, spoke to me about the results of the endoscopy. The original nodule decreased a little in size, but there were some other small nodes detected on the inside and outside wall. The biopsy showed they were related to the carcinoid. Dr. Mansfield has said we shouldn’t do any surgery right now, but we’ll see if he changes his mind when he sees the new results. I’m actually going to have the procedure done again next week, because there was some food in my stomach when I had the endoscopy done last week. By the way, I promised I did everything that they told me to do in preparation for that test.

My lab work looks good. I don’t have any of the symptoms that would suggest that I’m having a problem with the carcinoid, but it ultimately may be better to just remove all or part of the stomach to try to cure that problem. We’ll see!?

I see my oncologist Dr. Garrett tomorrow. I’m back in Seguin on Saturday.

Happy anniversay Linda and Earl

Earl & Linda Bishop finish big 50th anniversary celebration with dinner with friends and family at Casa Sol in Seguin. My mother and father inlaw are great. Congrats!

New tests

I had my endoscopy procedure at M.D. Anderson this morning. The test went fine, and I’m going home this afternoon. The carcinoid tumor in my stomach has actually decreased a little bit in size. However, there were some small bumps on the wall of the stomach that were taken to see if they were related to the other tumor. They also did an ultrasound to detect the depth of the carcinoid and also look at the lymph nodes in that area. Two nodes were taken and they will also be looked at by pathology.

The plan has been not to do any surgery on my stomach. We’ll see what the latest results show, and what the doctors think. I meet with doctors Mansfield (surgeon) and Garrett (oncologist) next week at M.D. Anderson. I also have CT scans there next week to help them see if we just need to continue to monitor it, or if something has changed and a more aggressive treatment is needed.

I’ll take all the prayers you send my way.

Meanwhile, I’m feeling good and ready to see my family in Seguin. Carter turns 4 on Sunday, and I’m looking forward to watching his face when he sees his gift from mommy and daddy.

later

Hello again

This might seem a little random, but I’m trying to post when I have the time — so here we go.

In case you haven’t heard, I got a promotion. I’m the new general manager for KWED radio, the Seguin Daily News and Seguin.Today.Com. Longtime GM, Hal Widsten retired after spending 45 years in the radio business. Hal is still around, and I hope to see him at some broadcast conventions in the future. He did so much for me personally and for the radio station. I’m thankful for the opportunity I had to learn from him.

I’m really excited about the new opportunities we have here at KWED. The staff seems to be ready to tackle any challenge, including what can only be described as a challenging economic time. The economy in Seguin is a great deal healthier than most of the country, but people watch the national news, and there is a cloud of uncertainty that exists everywhere. My job is to help our staff continue its high level of community service. Our news, sports and weather coverage is award-winning. Our sales staff is made up of quality people, who are really more advertising specialists than they are sales people. They know how to help people sale their stuff or their service. If your sales are lagging or you just want to make more money, call us. We can help! 830-379-2234

This week I got another chance to look at the new Guadalupe County Justice Center and its new parking garage. Wow! It’s impressive. An open house at the building has been planned for 5 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, August 24. You owe it to yourself to check it out. I think a great deal of praise needs to be heaped on the current Commissioners Court for making this happen. Judge Wiggins and the others have made a significant investment in downtown Seguin. This community also needs to go back and again thank former County Judge Jim Sagebiel and the others involved in making that original Economy Furniture building deal happen. They took a lot of grief for purchasing that building years ago. They said the deal would ultimately save the county money, and that’s just want it did. Ask Judge Wiggins what it cost them to build the Justice Center, and then ask them what it would have cost to build it elsewhere. I don’t want to get into a political fight with anyone, but from a dollars and sense standpoint it was a GREAT buy!

My parents-in-law, Earl and Linda Bishop, will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary this weekend with a nice little reception at our house. They are great people, and if you know them don’t forget to congratulate them on such an amazing milestone. My own parents would have celebrated their 50th this year. Mom lived to see the date, and dad was here in spirit, of course.

I’m off to M.D. Anderson for more test this week. I’m back again next week to finish up the test and to talk to the doctors there. Hopefully, things will come back clean. This is supposed to be a routine follow-up exam. I’ll keep you posted.

Hey, check out the Saturday Topic program this weekend. Dr. Robert Vogel, interim president at Texas Lutheran University, will be the guest on the program. Dr. Vogel is a delightful man, who’s accepted the challenge of leading the top rated university over the next academic year. The Saturday Topic airs at 8:05 a.m. on AM 1580 KWED and online at http://seguintoday.com.

That’s all for now.

Missing mom

I thank God each day for giving me such a wonderful mother, Gladys Carter Dunn. Rest in peace mom.

I can’t explain to you how difficult it has been to say good-bye to both my parents in such a short period of time. Mom’s service was lovely, much like my father’s in January. She fought a long battle. She was a three time cancer survivor. She maintained a great attitude. There’s no doubt that my strength is a trait that she passed on to me. She leaned on her faith to get her through the darkest times. She knew that God is good, and that the dark times don’t last. I’m also leaning on my faith, my family and my friends. Thanks to everyone. Thanks again for the prayers and support.

Good eats

If you live in Seguin or plan to visit soon, there’s a treat that you might be missing out on. It’s the Shrimp Barn restaurant.

As my best friend Rod, who grew up in Corpus Christi, points out — Seguin is quite a ways from the coast, but don’t let that fool you. The Shrimp Barn is cooking up some wonderful fresh tasting seafood.

I’ve been pleased with each dish I’ve tried so far. I had the grilled catfish today and it was terrific. They have a nice salad bar, but I always start with the catfish gumbo. Okay, I have to admit that I grew up on Louisiana style gumbo with the deep dark roux. Don’t go in expecting that. What you do get is a light and very tasty stew that could easily be a meal all by itself.

The Shrimp Barn is located on North Heideke Street in the old Guela’s Taco location. Some of you might not make it to this part of town very often, but it’s worth the trip.

I don’t often write these types of testimonials, but I think many Seguinites have not yet discovered this gem.

For the sake of full disclosure, I have to admit that I have only tried the fish dishes. I’m allergic to shellfish. So no shrimp or oysters for me; however, everyone I have talked to, including my morning show co-host, Sennett, have talked about the great meals they’ve had there.

Check it out.

In Houston/Galveston this week

We were just thinking that it was exactly one year ago this week that I had my first appointment at MD Anderson in Houston. A lot has happened since then. I’m doing well, we lost a member of our family and we gained a new one. Life is one amazing adventure. Thank you Lord for all the blessings.

Dr. Nick on divorce

Dr. Nick Wilkens discusses divorce and its impacts (PART II)

Dr. Nick on divorce

Dr. Nick Wilkens discusses divorce and its impact on all those involved (PART I)