I just wanted to give everyone a chance to tell about their fathers today, and why they were special.

My dad was a special man....kind, gentle, and strong. He was a Christian example, for which I am grateful. I loved him very much and really miss him today.

He was a dad of 11. My dad had a heart attack and didn't recover from bypass surgery. His doctors said his heart was very damaged from something other than the heart attack which was probably Lyme. He had been diagnosed with Lyme in the 80s, but it was then changed to CFS. He had to retired from farming because of this.

I hope all the fathers on this board have a Happy Father's Day!

As I've said many times before, he was mis-diagnosed with Alzheimer's.
Some years later, a LLMD in New Jersey diagnosed Neuroborreliosis (Lyme of the central nervous system).

We attempted treatment, but because of too many complications, including our ignorance of LD & no dr in South Carolina to work with us, his treatment was stopped.
His dementia symptoms gradually got worse & he had to move to a nursing facility.

It was heartbreaking to watch him losing his battle with a "treatable illness".
He died at the age of 85.

I miss him terribly, & at times, feel so guilty that I didn't have the knowledge or opportunity to help him as I could now.
We have to remember that we make decisions based only on the info we have at the time.

He was a kind, generous, gentle man who adored his wife, 2 children, & 6 grandchildren. He would do anything to help others.

In his 20s, he almost lost his life saving a child from drowning.

He didn't realize it, but his having Lyme disease has probably saved lives, too.
Because of his illness, a local dr became interested in Lyme, giving others the chance to get a diagnosis & treatment.

After losing him, I was determined to try to help people learn about Lyme, prevention & treatment, so that other families could be spared the same experience. This led to my work with the Lyme Disease Network of South Carolina. This has been a positive thing that resulted from my father's illness.

With connections in the Lyme community, a mother in North Carolina gave me info that led to my grandson's diagnosis of Lyme disease.
....another positive event from my father's illness.

He had the finest of Human and Humanistic qualities. He advocated for justice...for ALL humans. He had a wealth of compassion & reason & curiosity. He appreciated the beauty of nature and man's best artistic efforts equally. He was excited up to the end over new scientific unfoldings in almost every field.

In the last week of his life my father soared with exquisite violin music and was pleased and surprised that he could die without pain. He knew that his atoms would continue in the circle of life and he found contentment in that thought.

I loved him.

Quest

And, thank you to those who have shared their love of their fathers with us...it is indeed heart-touching.

I lost my father to cancer when I was 16 and he was only 43.

He was a wonderful father, and even though I had not lived with him since the age of one, I believe he gave all that he could to me and my sister.

His voice resonates in my sub-conscious whenever a special song plays on the radio that he once sang to me...

And then I know beyond any doubt, that he is still watching over me after all these years with tenderness.

My only regret in this life is that I didn't have the opportunity to get to know him well, but I do know in my heart that opportunity will come one day.

Years ago(20 maybe),he helped a man,turned out to be a teacher of my niece,heal from a sickness no one could figure out.My Dad was an ole timey family Doc.The sickness turned out to be Lyme.He was a trained surgeon,but he lost an arm to cancer,so he put his skill to diagnostic work and believing in the patient.

He taught me never to give up and I guess with having Lyme and being close to giving up,he had a huge influence on me.

My father was diagnosied Sept. 2, 1999 (his birthday) with stage iv lymphoma cancer. Not sick a day in his life. He had a back ache for a couple weeks and Mom made him go to doctors. WOW ! He started a round of chemo but it didn't work and he got an infection. By Oct. 16th, he wanted to go home.

We called in Hospice and all 7 of us kids flew to Colorado where Mom and Dad lived. Some of us went the first week and some of us went the 2nd week.

I went the 1st week from the 17th thru the 23rd of October because I had a court hearing to get my children back from my ex-husband who during this difficult time stole my kids during our separation and I couldn't get them back until I got into court October 26.

So I had to say goodbye and couldn't be with him to say the 'real' goodbye when we all knew it was a matter of days. But he made me come home and fight for my girls. I still see him in the chair as I walked rather got carried out to the car so my brother and sister could take me back to the airport to go home.

I said goodbye to my father October 23rd, 1999 and when I woke up on October 29 I felt it and Mom called. He was 78.

My father was the most fabulous, funniest, loved to flirt with all the girls, strongest, loving and now most missed man in my life. I sat at the cemetary this morning for quite awhile because it was beautiful weatherwise and prayed for him to hold me and give me strength.

When I hear "Daddy's Hands" I do think about and pray for people who were abused by their fathers. It's really sad that some people choose to be that way.

Yes, digirl....I got revenge! Just kidding! I'm glad you posted your story and I hope it was cathartic for everyone. The fact that I'll be losing my mom soon too, makes it even harder for me this year.