Curve Ball....

Just before getting packed to head to North Carolina, I went to New Braunfels on Monday to help my father with a procedure to have a tumor removed from his bladder. He has had cancer of the bladder over the last few years and has been considered in remission until this new tumor appeared. Thankfully, the doctor was able to easily remove it and the early prognosis is good.

About an hour after I got back to Austin I got a phone call from my mother telling me that my dad had fallen and he may have broken one or both legs. As is my father's tendency, it is hard for him to not push himself and he got up to let the dog outside while still woozy from the anesthesia and collapsed and broke his right leg below the knee for the third time.

My dad contracted polio when he was 14 had has suffered with Post Polio Syndrome for many years. Over the years, he has had numerous falls due to the weakened state of his legs and stomach and back muscles and has broken both of his legs a number of times and now at the age of 75 uses a walker and a scooter to get around. In addition, he has had both of his rotator cuffs surgically repaired due to over-use from the years of lifting himself.

Through it all, my father never complains and is always able to find the silver lining in any hardship or setback that comes his way. Every year it looks inevitable that an assisted living situation is around the corner. Somehow, he fights through the setback and manages to figure out ways to get around and is able to continue to live in his beloved house on the Guadalupe River.

He is a true inspiration to me with the grace, dignity and fortitude that he displays every day. And through it all, he still manages to maintain a wicked sense of humor. He is my hero!

I came very close to canceling the trip to the Laser Master NA's to stay with him but he reassured me that we was going to be fine and very much wanted me to make the regatta....which is really what he has always done for me. He has always encouraged me to try and accomplish my dreams and never feel bad for him. He is an amazing man and I am blessed to have him as my dad.