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Rusty Shoop - A Year Later
Rusty Shoop - One year later
By: Caroline Reid - Contributing Columnist
Description: A conversation with veteran TV anchorman
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Posted by caroline Mon Feb 4, 2008 14:33:43 PST
Viewed 523 times
0 responses 1 comment
Many people in Bakersfield know Rusty Shoop as a TV personality, news anchor and weatherman. However, Shoop has been missed by a lot of people this last year. When he and I talked at the Writers of Kern meeting, I asked him if I could interview him and get the word out about his recovery from a brain aneurysm last January. He was very gracious and agreed that it might be fun to do the interview. Fun indeed! I sat down with him over tea to find out what he is doing, how he is and what’s keeping him busy these days.
We met at 3:00 p.m. at Coco’s on Rosedale Highway. I thought it would be a good time to meet because I didn’t expect many people to be there at 3:00 in the afternoon. It would give us a good chance for a private interview.
The few who were there however obviously recognized him. One lady was waiting for her family to join her and unknown to us, had been listening to our conversation. When her family arrived she walked over to our booth and said, “I am so glad to see you! Your new book sounds exciting too. And I can’t wait to read this interview!”
He told me he worked for all three TV stations in town so most people have seen him on one channel or the other. He started in Bakersfield in 1984 on Channel 23 doing the weather with newscaster Burleigh Smith.
It was January 5, 2007 when after two days of an intense headache Rusty’s wife decided that she needed to get him to a doctor. Rusty credits his wife, his personal physician, Dr. Luis Cousin, and neuro-surgeon Dr. Mahmoud Rashidi with saving his life. Dr. Cousin sent him to the hospital immediately, then discovered that an artery in his brain had ruptured. Dr. Rashidi performed surgery within a very few hours of Rusty’s arrival.
Shoop says he can’t remember any of this. He vaguely remembers the headache, but after that, he doesn’t recall much of anything except waking up in the hospital and seeing his family and friends gathered around him, “Looking kind of somber.”
He credits not only his doctors, but the prayers of this group of loving people for the fact that he was sitting across from me in a booth at Coco’s discussing his recovery from this serious health event. Shoop and his family have always been devout Christians, but, he said, “I have never before felt the presence of God in such a dramatic way.”
He experiences some complications from the shock to his brain but they are not exhibited in a dramatic way. He walks 4-5 miles every day and goes about his life without major complications. Shoop stays busy reading, writing music and playing the guitar, working on his next novel, daily walks and “house husband work,” while his wife continues her position as a counselor at a junior high school.
Shoop said he has become an “Internet Junkie” and believes he has probably read almost every site that provides information on brain function. After reading several case histories, he is convinced that the Lord has a plan for his life and he spends time trying to see just what that might be. His doctor told him that only about 30% of patients survive such an event without major life altering problems (or death) so Rusty believes this is proof enough that there is a purpose. He is determined to figure out what it is.
His attendance at New Life Center on White and Newstine gives him the opportunity for group Bible study, along with his own personal study every morning of the week. He is a frequent speaker at Christian meetings at his own church as well as other churches. He is enthusiastic about sharing this life changing event and his firm belief that he still has much work to do in this world.
His “brain attack” convinced him that “Sometimes the Lord taps us on the shoulder and sometimes he hits us upside the head with a 2 x 4. I believe I experienced the 2 x 4.”
Shoop has finished a novel called, “Blood Harvest,” that takes place in a fictional city called Butterfield. It’s a murder mystery and will be published by Publish America. He used a few of his friends in Bakersfield as characters in the book, but it is entirely fictional. He wrote it about nine years ago and just now has had time to polish it and submit to the publisher. Watch for it at Russo’s and Barnes and Noble. It’s not out yet but it will be, so keep checking.
With the familiar twinkle in his eye, Shoop said, “I don’t have to get up at 3:30 a.m. anymore to get down to the station for the morning show, so I have time and energy to write music and fiction.” He added, “I do miss seeing those great people I worked with every day, but we stay in touch and I don’t have to get up at 3:30 a.m. to do it!”
Rusty and his wife have four grown children and seven grandchildren. He has one grandchild in Bakersfield, and the others live in Hawaii and Montana. Shoop expressed joy knowing that there is every possibility that he will live to see his grandchildren grow up.
A year ago no one held out a lot of hope for that.
“Hawaii is not a bad place to visit,” he said, “and having grandchildren there makes it even better!” Rusty and his wife recently returned from a trip to the island.
Shoop is a member of the Writers of Kern. He says he enjoys the informative meetings and the camaraderie with other writers.
I have a feeling there may be more literary achievements by this man who is still looking for his purpose. How could you not know there is a purpose when you were on the edge of life and came back? He enjoys family and friends and an interesting variety of activities. From that might come a remark or two that will help him identify that elusive purpose.
Just talking to him gave me the feeling that his purpose might be to encourage others who face life and death situations. I’ll check back with him in another year and see what he has discovered in his search for purpose.
Welcome back, Rusty Shoop!
Contact me at creid@bak.rr.com if you have questions or comments for Rusty and I will make sure he gets them.
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Mon Feb 18, 2008 21:21:43 PST
I was really glad to see Rusty is doing well. I was scheduled for an interview on the station he worked for one of the first mornings after the incident. They didn't share details, but I could tell by their body language the folks who worked in the studio were concerned for him. Now I understand why. I am really glad he allowed you to see this side of him and more importantly I'm glad it sounds like he is doing so well. There is always more to the story than you can write in such a short column so I look forward to reading more as Rusty shares with us in his own words in the Northwest Voice.
Very well written piece Caroline. The way you told the story was just wonderful.
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