Being a parent is the hardest job I’ve ever had. Just bringing kids up to be happy and healthy is just the tip of the iceberg when your ultimate goal is preparing them for anything they might encounter in an overwhelming life. But, the reward is indescribable when that little bundle of your life’s work drops your jaw, tears away a small portion of your worries, and reassures us “you did get through. I’m going to be fine”. I have personally had that moment.

At the age of 16, my son has proven to have more determination and drive than I ever had at that age. He keeps an A/B average in school, while holding a job to maintain the truck he purchased with his own earnings. He has stayed out of trouble and is on track to have a career where he will never work as hard as his parents have. He is happy, healthy, and I am grateful. Now his sister has had a much steeper grade in her life.

At 14, my daughter has had more pain and challenges than I would wish on any person. When my little girl was 9, doctors recommended surgery to correct her feet and relieve some of the constant pain she lived in. So would you believe that after four individual surgeries (two on either foot) spanning four tough years, that they would diagnose her with a serious case of scoliosis? Of course not, who is that evil! So naturally, about the same time we began discussing options to fix the scoliosis, she gets bitten by a rattlesnake while making a trip she had made every day since she began walking. This incident grounds her with several days in the hospital the first year in four years that doctors were going to leave her alone and give her some “normalcy”. The “lucky” jokes got old real quick!

So, to catch things up to present day, surgery was the only option for her scoliosis. A five hour procedure where two rods and some screws were inserted into her spine then wrapped in “living clay”. Over the last six years, I’ve had to stand by and just watch as my daughter lived through a constant cycle of pain and recovery, with my “Dad” powers unable to take all her pain away. Yet, nothing had prepared me for the four spirit crushing days in a recovery room, following the surgery. Her strength humbled me.

With everything my daughter has overcame in her earliest chapters of life, I don’t know why I was so surprised when she got herself out of bed and caught me off guard while making lunch just three days after bringing her home from the hospital! I will admit that knowing that my daughter is already stronger at the age of 14 than I will ever be, eases some fears associated with being a parent and makes me a proud father.

I would like to thank everyone that helped, kept in their thoughts and prayers this modest family that has endured a ton. We could not have done it alone! And to my little girl, you are my hero and my source for strength. I love you very much Paige. -Dad