I am lucky to still have my father with me. For almost two decades, he has battled cancer (prostate and now it's into his bones.) Many of you might recall the game thread where I disappeared for a while, only to come back and let you know that he just told me he had to start chemotherapy. That was quite a shock, and thanks again for all your well wishes from that night.
This shout-out for him is due to him not just perservering through it all, but for doing so with a vigor that I find in few people. I will tell you his story from the last week, and please, feel free to add your own.
He is a tough old nut. Rarely does he ever even peep about anything bothering him. At age 69, he still has a high pain threshold. This last week, I drove down to Castlegar to pick him up and take him out to Vancouver Island, where he had landed a golfing spot in the BC Seniors Summer Games. Wednesday, we played a round at Duncan Meadows for practice, then he had his first official tee off for the Games on Thursday. Throughout the summer, he had practiced hard and played in many tournaments to get ready. This was his time.
The first round was at Cowichan G & CC, a rather easy course compared to Duncan Meadows. Right off the get go, he didn't feel well. His lower right rib (where some bone cancer resides) started to bother him. All he had was aspirin for it, and after four holes, he was having trouble breathing, let alone swinging a club at full force. By the ninth hole, I thought he would pass out with each swing he took... his legs were buckling, and the yelping of pain was very hard to hear. I had never seen my Dad quit anything in his life. He played on... each swing more painful than the last. By the end of the round, he was finished. There appeared to be no tomorrow for his Games. Every time he swung, it was like a knife stabbing him in the side.
We went back to the hotel, ice packed him up, got the ibuprofen in him, and let him sleep. In the morning, his first words were "I'm done. We will call in and drop out due to medical problems."
Then he had a shower, which turned into a long hot bath. He started breathing somewhat easier now. Said "Maybe I can get taped up and play." Well, that is what we tried. Got down to Duncan Meadows, saw the medical team who wrapped his rib cage tight enough that he couldn't move the rib in a way that would hurt him when he breathed, then hit the driving range to test it out.
He chose to play on.
18 more holes later, and still not at his best, he finished the Games, but not in a manner that he thought was worthy of any prizing (Gold, Silver, Bronze). But he finished. He did what he had set out to do.
Right after he finished, we hi-tailed it to the ferry and headed back to Vancouver. Drove him back to Castlegar yesterday, and just got back into Calgary now. All along the trip I kept thinking about what a gutsy performance he gave.
So I get back here and hop onto the PC. What is the latest e-mail I have in my Inbox? It's from Dad. He won the Silver medal in his division afterall!!
I am a pretty proud son right now. Always have been, always will... but today, well, it is one of those special moments that I thought deserved a shout-out.
Perhaps some of you have yours too. Dads rule. Long live them all.
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