Reborn

We celebrated my dad's 66th birthday on December 27th. That was five days ago. It was kind of a big deal. Not because he turned 66 but because he had died 27 days earlier.

My dad was born on December 27th, 1947 in Illinois. That very same year Frank Capra released It's a Wonderful Life, a film which became a family viewing tradition each year around Christmas in our home. My lasting takeaway from Capra's film remains that we are all important to someone. My dad is important to so many.



On November 30th, 2013 shortly after the Thanksgiving holiday my dad went out body surfing with his neighbors. In retirement my dad has maintained his fitness, riding his bike regularly and jumping in the water when he can. But fitness cannot always save you from genetics. With heart issues running in the family November 30th was the day his heart gave out.

On a day denoted by a remarkable winter sunset, my dad, perched above his body board, clutched at his chest and attempted to yell to his friend Perry. Perry could not hear him but fortunately the body language told him something was not right. He swam to my dad, cradled his upper-body, and began the long swim to shore. My dad's other friend Joe raced towards the lifeguard tower. Lifeguards were able to revive my dad using a defibrillator. The next morning he had three stents inserted into blocked arteries. It is a little over a month later - my dad is alive - and I guess you could say he now has two birthdays.

The December 27th birthday was emotional just like the family gathering at Christmas two days earlier. As we finished dinner on the 27th my dad cried and lamented that had he died he wouldn't have gotten to say goodbye nor would he have been able to tell us how much we all meant to him. I told him that was silly - we all know how much we mean to him.

I weigh 245 pounds. This is a lot of weight to carry, especially for someone with heart issues in the family. I haven't always weighed this much. Not so long ago I played rugby. But then the competition ended, the career changed, children came, and years of good habits fleeted away.

The last thing I want to worry about in life is whether I could have made better decisions for my health. This isn't a worry I harbor for myself but my wife and daughters.

With a plan in place 2014 begins.