Two Kelsey-Seybold physicians received kind words from an unexpected news source recently. Jim Bishop, Executive Editor and Columnist for the Victoria Advocate, took up the task of wordsmith for his sister, Helen Hughlett, a patient of Treneth Baker, MD, Surgery, and Xylina Gregg, MD, Hematology and Oncology, Internal Medicine.
Ms. Hughlett, a Tomball resident, reports that she feels great. “I’m just glad it’s over with,” she says. “I made it through. I’m glad I’m alive, and I am grateful to them.”
The newspaper column wasn’t Mr. Bishop’s idea. It all started when Ms. Hughlett wanted to show her appreciation.
“I told Jim that I wanted to do something different for these special people,” she says. “I didn’t want to bring them cookies or flowers or whatever. So I asked him to write the column, and when it was printed, he sent copies of the paper to me.” (Click here for Jim Bishop’s column that appeared in the August 20, 2003 issue of the Victoria Advocate.)
And then she passed them out to each doctor she thanked in the article. “Mary, Dr. Baker’s nurse, says she has it framed,” Ms. Hughlett says. Mr. Bishop was happy he could do something to help during the challenging times. “It was shattering for our family,” Mr. Bishop says. “It’s the first case of cancer on either side of our family that anyone could recall. You know, that’s my baby sister, and I was devastated. But she has fought it so bravely and been an inspiration. The last time I saw Helen, she said, ‘Hey look! I’m getting my hair back.’ That showed me the kind of courage she has.”
After many years with the Ford Motor Company, Ms. Hughlett had retired. However, she found retirement to be too dull for her, so she had resumed her career at a car dealership shortly before the cancer diagnosis. She is now back at work and enjoying the company of her husband, Bob, their three kids and ten grandchildren. Indeed, she has a lot to live for.
Editor’s Note: All patients quoted in this story have given special permission for their names to be used.
