My admiration for Governor Greg Abbott of Texas, already healthy, has grown, as I learn what a brave, tough, mission-driven man he is.   On vacation with his family last Thursday, he:

… sustained "extensive second- and third-degree burns" on both legs below the knees and both feet - and may miss next week's Republican National Convention as a result, his office said Sunday.

Spokesman Matt Hirsch said Abbott was with his family in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on Thursday when he was scalded in an accident involving hot water. He declined to provide further details.

Gov. Abbott was treated at a nearby medical center, and:

As he was being released, a top aide called from Texas to say a gunman had opened fire in downtown Dallas - an attack that killed five police officers and wounded seven others.

"His first words to us were, 'I've got to come back,'" Hirsch said.

Abbott held a press conference in Dallas on Friday, but didn't disclose being burned. Hirsch said that his legs were wrapped at the time, but that wasn't evident since they were covered by his pants.

The only hint anything was wrong, Hirsch said, was that the governor was wearing orthopedic shoes that his staff purchased that morning - rather than the dress shoes or boots he usually dons in public.

I saw the governor speak at the press conference, and he was his usual intelligent and eloquent self, one of the most impressive newcomers to the national political scene. That he was coping with serious, serious pain is astounding. If he was given any painkillers, they could not have been codeine-based.

I wish the governor a speedy recovery.  I have suffered similar burns, and know he will be wrapping his skin in treated bandages for a long time and applying various substances to his damaged skin.  He is recovering from a major wound.