“Not on My Time — On the Right Time”

A little bit of my life lately! 

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:21

Up to your old tricks again.

SPEAKER_01 0:27

Look how far I had to come to get back where I started from.

SPEAKER_00 0:35

Well, hello there. Hello there. Uh Brad Williams here. It is the Brad Williams podcast, Hope Through the Storm, and thank you so much for checking in. It's been uh a minute or four since uh I had a podcast up, and uh I just first of all would like to start by thanking everybody who listens to uh to this platform, and uh I appreciate that. And uh long overdue uh once again here, but uh nonetheless, here we are already into May. What's today? Uh second day of May, right? Yesterday was May Day. Uh I got a few things to say, I guess. So uh I uh part of me uh was thinking here recently that I wanted one of the reasons I wanted to jump on here was because uh I recently had uh another PET scan done concerning my health, and uh I know a lot of you that have supported me throughout my cancer journey and uh beyond. Um I just uh wanted to give you guys uh an update uh that uh the all-clear signal continues here for me, and uh praise the Lord for that for sure. Um last scan was uh I guess at this point, probably close to a month ago now, and that would have marked oh, let's see, that would have been uh 18 months post uh chemotherapy. So uh yeah. So everything uh looking good on that end, feeling uh very good overall. I've had uh some other issues, as some of you uh know. I've had uh some, well, actually, since uh back to December the 5th, I think it's been every week I uh do go in for uh infusions, and mostly because of uh my magnesium is depleted um by and large from the chemo. Uh so but uh at the end of the day, if that's what we have to do, then that's what we have to do. It's still uh uh pretty good uh prognosis for me. So uh just kind of wanted to give the update there. And uh it uh it just you know it kind of reminds me the whole health scare and and uh going through, you know, what I've went through and continue to, you know, to process uh you know, having uh been diagnosed at stage four. And uh I don't know, you it uh there's a few things that come to play for me. Um number one is Jesus, um, first and foremost. Uh around that though is uh the tremendous health care that I continue to receive at uh Lakewood Health System in uh Staples and just all of the amazing things that they're doing. Their cancer center uh over there is just phenomenal and uh can't say enough good things about it. And uh I'm real I realize when I go now, not that I didn't before, but uh you know, since the because all of my treatment, uh it's worth noting, was in um what they consider the old infusion bay uh before the the new cancer center was even open. So having seen that side of it and uh you know gone through what I went through there with others, and then to see uh what's happening with the new cancer center, and then I'm just reminded, I think the other day I I uh went in for labs for blood work, and I have a port, so that is a port draw when they do labs on me. Uh mostly because the chemo uh just kind of raised heck with my veins, so it's hard for them to get a draw um normally on me. So, anyway, that's that. But uh the infusion nurse I had that day said that I think they were already up to like 30, over 30 patients that day for infusions of some fashion or another. Um so just uh goes to it, just uh is a testament on how much local cancer care is needed, and uh I toot the horn of Lakewood Health System, but it's available uh all around us as well, and uh it just reminds me of how important and uh how far we've come really globally in health care in general, and uh so there's a lot of pieces to that. But anyway, just kind of the update on that, and it just makes me uh mindful of not only my situation, and I guess the other thing beyond being thankful that uh God has uh had his hand on me through all of this. Um and by saying that I can say that he's led me to the direction of my health care um and the people that uh that I am so grateful and thankful for. But beyond that, it is really uh the one virtue that I have taken from this, and I can apply it in many, many levels of my uh of my life day to day is patience. Yep. So uh yeah. We're all uh humanoids, so right, at the end of the day, and uh I don't know, I just uh things that uh used to bother me not so much. And uh there's a lot there's a lot more of my energy that I can spend in other areas rather than uh worry about things that are completely out of my control. So I guess that's the other thing I just kind of wanted. I've said that before, but I just kind of wanted to sh reshare that thought uh there as well. The other thing, as long as we're on topic uh with healthcare and uh Lakewood just had their recent give orange, which is their foundation, their annual fundraiser uh for their foundation, which raises monies to help folks that uh might need gas money, might need grocery money, might need uh you know, help getting from point A to point B and back to point A again, that kind of thing. And it helps a lot of people, a lot of different ways. And uh just wanted to mention that. Last year um I had the high honor, Dana and I, of being honored at the um at the foundation fundraiser a year ago, and uh this year I just wanted to go and support it. And uh I have a I have uh a little uh I have somebody that kind of says, hey, you know what? I'm gonna be working there anyway, so you might as well show up, and that would be my wife, where a lot of you know that she is working in the marketing department at Lakewood, but um so proud of her and the work she does. And uh anyway, she had bought me a ticket to go, so I went and uh I'm so glad that I did because I got to witness not only what I had gone through previous uh in 2024 uh into 2025, but then to see how um it affects people um that are there to to share their story um also and um so just kind of neat. Um it was super neat to um to be able to hear the the evening and um to be part of it and uh the entertainment and uh just seeing so many awesome people and and that kind of thing as well. I just I wanted to uh I'm kinda babbling here, which I know how to do pretty good, but I wanted to get to um to their Facebook page and I want to find because I'm going to mention uh two people that they shared who shared their journey uh this year. Um one gal from uh New York Mills, Pam Robinson, who is part of their Parkinsons uh in the Parkinsons program, and then uh Kara Kern, who I I don't know either of these ladies personally, but I have the uh utmost respect for both of them for uh for sharing their story because that's not uh that's not an easy grab. Um you know, it's uh takes uh a little bit to you know to share your to be able to uh put that into words and and uh for those that do it, and and in this case, uh Pam Robertson and Kara Kern their journeys both were different, but both were filled with resilience and courage, and and uh I just wanted to personally thank uh both of them for um for sharing their story and uh being part of that evening uh as well. Had to just be uh I know what it made how it made me feel. So I uh I already know that they were I'm I have no doubt extremely grateful uh you know for the opportunity to be able to uh to share their story and and be part of that evening and uh be part of of uh the Lakewood home, the Lakewood Health System family for sure. So uh what else is going on? Uh a couple people that I know uh personally that uh passed away recently. I just wanted to send again my condolences to the family of Gary Altrichter. He was uh gentleman that uh I knew growing up. He worked with my dad and for my dad uh for a number of years, and uh uh I know that family um they were right there uh in that uh Lincoln area, Scandia Valley Township, uh more specifically, and uh I knew Gary pretty well. Hadn't seen him. I saw him a few years ago at my uncle's funeral, was the last time I saw him, but I'd heard that he had passed, so I'm I was um sad to hear that. Uh great guy, and then also uh Dave Wickham, who uh is from Staples, uh, also passed away recently. And uh just uh again, it takes you back to how fragile this life is that we have, right? So uh just kind of wanted to mention that as well. Um the weather has been kind of wonky, right? Up and down, down and up. And uh but we're kind of stable, it feels like now. I mean, today was it's still like 60 degrees out here on Saturday evening. So uh and a little bit of rain recently, so uh that'll get things kind of perking up. You can see the trees are budding and that kind of thing, and fun time of the year as we roll through spring here and get ready. A lot of people I know are looking to get into their gardens and and um get on with the uh spring and summer season ahead because oh my goodness, how quickly it goes, right? It's good to see area farmers out getting in the fields, doing some spring tillage and planting, uh that kind of thing, and uh just a good time of the year that we've kind of hopefully gotten through. Is it safe to say that winter is behind us, you know, for the season? I would hope so. I would think we're probably mostly safe with that, but uh it's been kind I know the other day there was even some snow a couple days ago, not here specifically, but I think somebody uh came into Cal's and said they were driving from Detroit Lakes and they ran through some snow. I don't know. I guess if it can happen, it will happen, right? Uh what else do I got going? Uh I want to mention this as well. My uh my wife's youngest, Ashley, who's just this kid. Um I have known her since I don't know, four, five years old, five, six, somewhere in there. I can't remember. I can't remember day to day, but she's a senior at Wadena Deer Creek, and she is having what I am I say is like the perfect storm of a year. Um just she's very active, has been in sports since she since I've known her. And uh that group of kids in that her senior class, it's just been fun to watch them. And whatever it's been, whatever the sport's been, whether it's been volleyball, uh, girls basketball, and now the girls' softball team is uh rocking it. Only two losses on the year, and I know they had uh double header the other day over in Staples and uh picked up a couple more wins on the season as well. But uh Ashley uh last weekend was prom at Wadena Deer Creek, and then this young man that uh she has been seeing from Purim. I know, right? Anyway, it's their prom uh tonight. So uh uh Dana headed over there. I thought, you know what? I I was gonna go and I thought I'm gonna use this opportunity to do this podcast, otherwise, it's probably not gonna happen again for me. Uh so I was uh but anyway, I just wanted to throw a little uh little love to Ashley Bug because she's uh it's gonna be, you know, her senior year is uh gonna come to a close here pretty quickly. And uh then her plans, I believe, are uh going to the University of North Dakota where her older sister Allie uh goes as well. Allie actually graduating as a uh junior a year early, and then she will jump right into, I believe, grad school this summer. So that kid is just also crushing life and uh just uh phenomenal to watch these uh these two kiddos uh grow up. And then my son Christopher, he's up in Grand Rapids, and I get a chance to visit with him every now and again. And uh he and my grandson Grayson uh seem like they're doing quite well, and uh he just loves that part of the world. He was built for the outdoors, and uh that's a pretty good spot to be if you're gonna be hanging in the uh in the in the great outdoors uh for sure. So yeah, otherwise uh my family, uh my siblings, I don't see a whole lot of. I um trying to think here. I did see my brother here a few weeks back. I stopped over over to Motley and checked in on he and Sue and have not seen well my oldest sister uh Rebecca, she has been uh I think she was in Cali all winter long, and I think they just got back recently. And uh my other sister Lisa is busy down there as well, and uh I do get a chance to chat, text, whatever seems to be the the way we go these days. But uh other than that, as far as I know, everything's uh doing good and uh uh that kind of thing. So yeah, I just wanted to uh get one out here, get this thing going. There is um I do have, and I think I maybe mentioned it on my last podcast, but I have two people that um I can say they're friends, and then I can also they say that they are part of uh uh of the many, many people that have had an impact impact on me health-wise that are both employed at Lakewood Health System. And I kind of threw a teaser out there to one of these gals uh a few weeks ago about doing a podcast, and her eyes lit up and said, Absolutely. So we're gonna I'm gonna I tentatively have a yes vote, I think, from both of them, and then I'm going to the so the next one, that's what I'm gonna shoot for. And uh just two great people both work in um different fields of the healthcare, and I just think it I just think it would be kind of cool to just uh kick back, sit back, and uh have a conversation with both of them on life. Um work life in Lakewood. How's that sound? Maybe that'll be the the title of it. I don't know, but uh anyway, so I'm kind of looking forward to uh that one. I actually did ask my wife if she wanted to jump on here. Nope. She's one anybody that knows her knows she is not um at the forefront. She likes to be on the other side of that, right? Telling those stories and and and that kind of thing. But uh anyway, I didn't expect a yes either way, I guess. Uh so yeah. But uh other than that, uh life is good and uh kind of did some spring things today, did uh got uh oil filter and oil for the uh lawnmower, got that done. Uh got to go over and see uh the fellas over at Midcentral Equipment on a Saturday and and uh see Nathan and Colin, who I used to work with over there. Um he's working on uh he's got a truck, a classic Chevy, like 72-ish. He's dropped a 454 motor in, and he's just tricking this thing out, and uh it's uh looks pretty phenomenal. So it was good to see those guys uh also. And uh I know everybody's uh busy doing their own thing. It won't be long, and uh, like I said, we have a senior in the house. There'll be graduation coming up here in a few weeks, and and on to summer we go. Dana and I were talking about um just trying to see if we can't schedule something with the kids this summer, and that something is what? I have no idea. It's you know, schedules and this and that, and now you're talking adult children, right? And uh everybody knows that's not always the easiest, but we'll get something figured out. I know a couple summers ago we were able to go to um when Allie was a between her junior and senior year, we took the kids out to Montana, and that was about the last real thing we did um, you know, as a family. And um boy, I tell you, it it's such a reminder too to seize those moments when you can, uh for sure, because they go by so so quickly. And uh, like I've said many times, it's uh tomorrow is uh absolutely not promised uh to any one of us. So but uh hope everybody is doing well, other than than uh my little vibe here. I do have something else kind of cooking. Um some of you have already seen this on social media. I'm not really gonna go into it a whole lot because I gotta I would need to do some more uh research on how I want to proceed um with this, but uh I got involved and this has been a thought in my head for a long time, but um kind of seeing it come to fruition now. Um we began a a uh platform to uh honor um well just get right to it because the Facebook is out there and it's live. It is the Central Minnesota Broadcaster's Hall of Fame. And uh a lot of you have already went there and uh seen it. Um but I'll just throw it out there. Haven't um so the page is live. Uh you can go to it if you haven't already and give it a follow. It is um Central Minnesota Broadcasters Hall of Fame on Facebook. You can find it there. There is a website also that is live. I just haven't uh gotten uh everything loaded up there as far as uh how that's gonna operate with the Facebook page. But the reason for this was I think uh having spent most of my adult life in radio and uh in radio in central Minnesota, and I don't mean that to be specific to just the guys that I worked with uh in Wadena. I mean that globally to the region, and that means uh guys that I've looked up to um over the years and gals um that have worked other markets, whether that is Brainerd, Bemidji, uh Aiken, um Alexandria, certainly, Park Rapids, Detroit Lakes, Fergus Falls, it's global to to the region, and uh that's kind of and I just think it gets missed, you know, with uh with everything else that's going on, and uh a lot of that stuff is driven to the Metro, which is fine, uh well deserved for sure. But uh this page uh this platform has been set up to do uh to honor those uh that have made an impact in radio broadcasting here in our region. So there's gonna be a lot more cool stuff to come with that. A lot more. I've got an arsenal of uh ideas and uh actual um you know footage, if you will, of a lot of this stuff, and um I'm going to enlist the help of of some others to uh help me out with it uh as well. And um so anyway, excited about that. That was able been working on that for a while, was able to uh go live with that Facebook page here uh just this past week. So that's pretty cool too. Pretty proud of that for sure. Uh 100%. So anyway, hope everybody's uh doing good. This is the Brad Williams podcast. Hope through the storm, turn the page. Um, and wherever you get your podcast, Apple, Google, Spotify, Audible, um it's everywhere. And I appreciate everybody listening in. Um I don't have the actual stats in front of me, but I noticed that at least all time that it was like active in like like 23 other countries. People are listening to this thing. So it was just unreal. Unflipping real, as they say, right? Uh be good, everybody. Trust in the Lord, and uh thank you for uh checking out my podcast here. Hope y'all are doing well. I'm doing great. So thankful for uh for everything that I have in my life for sure, and uh that includes y'all. We'll see you next time. This is the Brad Williams podcast.

SPEAKER_03 25:13

Blow on your restless win.

SPEAKER_02 25:19

Up to your old tricks again.

SPEAKER_01 25:25

Look how far I had to come to get back where I started from the body.