This I Believe

I believe in my father.

Out of all the members of my family, my father is the main one I look up to. He has always been the pillar of my home and the guardian of my family.

I did not know my father during his younger years due to my being the youngest member of the family. The earliest history of my father I experienced was when he made the decision, along with my mother, to move to Oregon for work.

My father's work history consisted of working at Sequent, then IBM, then Tektronix, and finally, Pacificorp. The interesting part of his story isn't his work history, but rather his battle with serious illness and his dedication to family.

Back in the Winter of 2004, my father asked his boss if he could take off early for work the day of. This was the first time he had ever done this without giving his boss prior notice. On his way home, my father had developed double vision and was barely able to park his car in the driveway. He took a nap, woke up, and asked my mother where he was.

After I came home from school, my mother told me what had happened and what the doctors had told her at the hospital. My father had developed hydrocephalus. Somewhere in his brain, there was blockage and fluid was building up to the point where it caused sharp pain and double vision.

The doctor, who was also my stake president, told my mother and father that there was a treatment for hydrocephalus, but there was a ten percent chance that my father's double vision would not go away.

After much prayer and fasting, the day of the surgery came and the results were miraculous. It took several months, but my father had made a full recovery.

Four years later, in the summer of 2008, my father had another surgery on one of his vital organs, his heart. The surgery was another miracle and Dad was able to make a full recovery. Thanks to these surgeries, my Mom had a hard time finding a company that would provide health insurance to my father. We always joke that his lungs or liver will be the next thing to go and will require another extensive surgery.

The thing that amazes me is how these surgeries had done nothing to limit my Dad's physical ability. Every opportunity he gets, he takes us on an outing. If he can't get the entire family, he would usually take me. These were the best bonding experiences I had with my Dad. We could talk about anything and there wouldn't be anyone or anything to detract from our conversation.

My Dad was divinely protected through his intensive surgeries and he knows this as well. He has never and will never stop caring for his family.

This I believe.