On December 1, 2014 my dad became deathly ill. I was 24 weeks pregnant with my son. My dad had just begun a new job as a school protection officer in our town. They rushed him to the emergency room and after many scans, they found out that he had a dissecting aortic aneurysm. The major hospital was over an hour away and he would need to be life flighted. The doctors in our emergency room looked over his CT results and the doctors in Indianapolis told the doctors in the emergency room that there was nothing they could do. But that doctor didn't give up. The doctor came out and told my mom that he didn't think my dad would survive and he told her that my dad had a 2% chance of living and if he did live he would have brain damage and may never be the same. After 8 hours of open heart surgery, my dad was on life support for 5 days. He later had a stroke due to the lack of blood loss before they could start repairing his heart. He was in the hospital for 23 days and in a rehabilitation center for 21 days. My mom never left his side! During that time he had 4 surgeries and was on the ventilator twice. Since his surgery in December he has had 2 more open heart surgeries still repairing his aorta that is still not repaired completely. In August of 2015 he also got diagnosed with cancer. After 2 surgeries removing most of his tongue and the lymph nodes in his neck, he is cancer free. On March 19, 2015 my husband and I gave birth to our son... and I knew why my dad had fought so hard. My dad and my son have a real bond... And I truly believe the only reason my dad is still here us because of Ryker. My parents have endured a lot of pain after losing my only brother dying at the age of 19 and my dad becoming so sick, but through it all their marriage and love has grown stronger each day! My dad is my hero and has taught me so many lessons in life, but most importantly to always beat the odds and never give up!